Habitat for Love
by cait85
Summary: Edward is running, broken from a past relationship. Bella is searching, trying to find a place she truly belongs. They head to a third-world country to volunteer their time. Will the place they travel to escape be they find true happiness?
1. Chapter 1

**Habitat for Love**

**Chapter 01 - Decisions**

"So, are we all going then?" Carlisle looked around the massive dining room table at his family, making eye contact with each member individually. Everyone nodded in agreement save for his son Edward who continued to sit stiffly, looking at his hands folded together on the table in front of him. So much like he himself was at that age, so trusting and full of good intentions. Carlisle couldn't help but feel sorry for his middle son and the recent pain of heartbreak that he had to endure. Carlisle's wife Esme stood silently from her chair and walked over to her husband. She put her arm gracefully around his waist and hugged him in a brief show of support before she addressed their son's hesitation.

"Edward," she began, her obvious love for her son showing in her eyes, "I know leaving so soon after the whole Tanya incident is horrible timing, but your father and I must go. Because of the situation in Honduras, so many important projects are not being completed. People are continuing to live without roofs over their heads and the longer we wait, the worse it's going to get. We have been donating money to this organization for years now; we believe this time that it is important enough to give ourselves. We need to go, and we need to go now.

We would love for you to join us, however if you are not comfortable with leaving right now we will respect your decision." Esme left her husband's side, gracefully stepping to stand behind her son's chair. She lovingly put her hands on his shoulders and gently rubbed them as a show of her support. She made eye contact over his head with her oldest son and looked at him, imploring him to help snap his younger brother out of his funk.

"Listen little bro, you gotta snap out of this." Emmett leaned forward putting his hands on the table as he made eye contact with his younger brother who sat just across from him. He briefly looked up at his mother, when he saw that she was nodding her approval, he continued. "We all tried to warn you about Tanya. She was never one of us. You need to find someone who gives just as much of herself to you, as you gave to her. She was all 'take take take'. That was never your style; you deserve much better than that." Emmett leaned back in his chair moving his massive arm around the back of his wife Rosalie's chair.

"I know Emmett." Edward said through grated teeth. He hated acknowledging the fact that he was wrong. To acknowledge that everyone else was right in the same breath stung twice as much. "I should have listened to all of you when you told me how wrong she was. I know I need to move on and that this might be just the thing to help me do just that. Maybe I will join you, if they can use an extra set of hands. I'll see if the hospital here can do without dad and me for awhile." Edward looked over at his father for confirmation.

"It's already been taken care of son. I was hoping that you would join us. We are both free for the next month." Carlisle placed both hands on the table and leaned forward to try to take his youngest child's attention away from her laptop. "Alice," Carlisle addressed her from across the table, "can I count on you to organize the travel arrangements for us? We'll leave as soon as possible." Alice barely looked up from her laptop screen and nodded, beaming at her father as he placed his trust in her with this responsibility. She quickly turned her attention back to her laptop, already getting to work on their travel plans.

"Dad, are you sure it's safe for the women to go with us?" Emmett addressed his question to his father, but his eyes never left his wife's breathtaking face.

Rose smiled back at her husband and leaned into his shoulder. Being five months pregnant did not make for the best travel plans, but she knew in her heart she would be following her husband, it didn't matter when or where he went.

"Of course Emmett. Even though we will be working in the surrounding villages, we will be staying in a large city with hospitals run by American mission organizations, and we will be joining other groups there as well, so we will have a larger number. It would depend on Rose, of course and how she is feeling. I also expect before we leave that you will ask Dr. Wayans for his approval first. Although, I must insist that if he says no, then that's the final answer. Be assured, I will put my foot down on this, you two." Carlisle's voice was stern, but his face held only concern for his eldest son and only daughter-in-law. With two previous miscarriages, Rose and Emmett were very cautious with this pregnancy; taking no chances. Having made it this far, the whole family knew what a blessing this baby would be to the family when it finally arrived.

"Dad, there aren't any direct flights into Tegucigalpa, but Steve says there will be other groups meeting up in Houston this Friday and will be flying from Houston to Tegucigalpa as one big group. Alberto and his wife Anna will be meeting everyone at the airport on the Honduran side to take us to Catacamas." Alice spoke the whole conversation simultaneously as she typed, never breaking her eye contact from the computer screen.

"Alice, I trust you can make these decisions. I also would like for you to begin organizing to have some items shipped directly there. Your mother has already had the Women's Auxiliary from Forks Memorial set up donation boxes so those will need to be shipped there as well." Carlisle looked over at his wife and smiled before turning his attention back to their daughter. "Can you help your mother with that task?" Carlisle looked at Alice with a question in his eyes.

"I'll have it done by the end of today." Alice said, only briefly looking at her father as she continued to type.

"Excellent. We seem to have this all down to a science." Carlisle's face showed his pride for his family as much as his words. "I'll leave you all to your packing. Alice, you will email us the information and departure times?" At his daughter's nod, Carlisle dismissed the group. He looked over at Edward and addressed his middle child again, "Edward, if I may have a moment with you?" Walking around to the edge of the table he gave his wife a kiss before patting his son on the shoulder to lead him outside as the group dispersed.

"What can I help you with dad?" Edward's confusion wasn't lost in his voice.

"It's not what you can help me with; it's what I want to help you with. I want you to know that I am here for you son, if you ever need to talk. Edward, things are going to be more difficult with Rose being there, I would like for either you or I to be nearby her at all times, just in case. I trust her completely and we could really use the extra hands, even if she is somewhat limited. I just want to make sure that if Rose needs any medical attention that you or I are there to give it to her. Also, I wanted to make sure that you are comfortable with her going with Emmett. I know it's not easy to see them together, it must sting a bit for you and Alice to see them so happy." Carlisle's voice trailed off as Edward cleared his throat.

"I'll stick close by her, don't worry about that dad. I'm happy for Emmett and Rose. I'm thrilled that they are finally getting the family they deserve. What I need right now is a place to lick my wounds. I was seriously thinking of taking a vacation anyway. I just need to get away from Washington for awhile, since this trip came up, it fits right in. What better place to hide than Honduras?" Edward sat down heavily at the solid oak picnic table that sat outside.

"I'm proud of you son. You have so much to give of yourself. Maybe this is exactly what you need." Carlisle sat down opposite his son as they continued to talk about the upcoming trip. They were soon joined by Alice and her ever present laptop.

"Guess what? My online friend from Florida, the one I keep telling you all about? She thinks her Habitat for Humanity group is going to be in the same region as us. I might actually get to meet her there." Alice looked so happy, practically bouncing up and down on the wooden bench that Edward couldn't help but smile. She didn't even try to hide her excitement.

"Alice, only you could make friends with a complete stranger that you've never met. How do you get yourself into these things?" Edward nudged his younger sister playfully as he glanced at her laptop screen.

"Silly, I met her in a chat room that was set up by a responsible charitable organization. I have been chatting with her for almost a year now and she seems more like family than a stranger. Besides, I've done my research and I like the work that the group she's with has done. I even talked dad into making a donation to their group." Alice chirped away as she typed.

"Define 'their' for me Alice." Edward looked over at his father, hoping that he would join in on his side to help Alice see how ridiculous she was being.

"Don't be a jerk Edward, 'their' is my friend Isabella and her friend Jasper. They have been doing charity work since graduating last June, just like me. Why do you always have to be such a snob?" Alice looked over at her brother with an incredulous look on her face. "Sometimes I can't believe we are really related." Alice shook her head sadly and went back to her typing.

"That's enough you two." Carlisle decided to jump in before they started bickering like teenagers.

"Well, at any rate, she's going to be down there and I am going to meet her face to face. I can't believe that I am flying all the way to Honduras to meet someone from Jacksonville." Alice laughed briefly with her father while her brother continued to stare at her.

"Do you even know what she looks like?" Edward asked, still not trusting Alice's computer.

"Well, the photos we sent over the internet are not that great. I think she has issues though because in every single picture she sent me, like all three of them, she is turned away from the camera. It's almost like she's hiding from it." Alice pulled up the pictures and turned the computer screen to show them to her father and brother. "See, this is her right here." She said while pointing.

Sure enough, the figure in the first picture was turned, hair flying to one side. She had obviously seen the camera and turned too late to have her face in the picture. The second picture was no better; the girl was now looking down at her shoes. The third one showed her face and what might have been a smile, but it was mostly hidden behind a curtain of brown hair.

"Alice, you can barely see her in any of these pictures. How can you trust someone who won't even take a proper picture of herself?" Edward shoved the computer back toward his younger sister.

"She's just shy Edward. She doesn't like her picture being taken that's all." Alice defended her friendship even though she had never met the girl in the photograph.

"Really? How do you know she's not in the witness protection program, or better yet what if she's wanted by the FBI?" Edward's case made valid points, but Alice was having none of it and looked toward her father for help.

"Edward really? How many criminals do you know would volunteer their time in a third world country filled with poverty?" Carlisle gently admonished his son.

"I personally don't know any criminals. But I do know that it sounds like a perfect place for a criminal to go and lay low." He said leaning forward, still not trusting their judgment.

"WOW!" Alice exclaimed, tired of seeing her friend maligned even though she herself still had yet to meet her. "Tanya must have really done a number on your heart. Are you ever going to trust anyone ever again Edward or are you just going to keep adding to that wall of yours brick by brick? You know, you're right. Maybe this trip is just what you need to start trusting people and opening yourself up again."

"No, I don't think that's the answer. I'm going on this trip to get away from people for a while, women in particular. And maybe it's time you stopped being so trusting and held back a little. Maybe you should be more protective and maybe even start a wall to keep yourself away from preying people like this." Edward tapped the laptop.

"You're wrong Edward. I'm going to prove it to you. You're just so wrong." Alice slammed the screen of her laptop down with much more force than was necessary and then winced. "Now look what you made me do. I swear Edward. You need to start joining the living again. Why are you letting Tanya's betrayal still affect you like this? Can't you move on and forget about her?"

"I'm sorry Alice," Edward began, realizing that his sister wanted only what was best for him. "You're right. I promise to try very hard to work on my obvious resentment and to start trusting people again."

"Good. It's a start at least. Now, I am going to go inside and try to upgrade Emmett's and Rose's seat to a first class one, at least for the trip to Houston." Alice reached for her laptop swinging her legs around to get out of the picnic bench.

"Edward, all any of us can ask of you is to at least try." Carlisle spoke directly to his son.

"Yeah. Well I promise I will try. After all, it's not like I am going to meet the woman of my dreams in some third world country." Edward reached over grabbing Alice's laptop to hand it to her as they all stood to go back inside to start packing.

Bella Swan sat cross legged on her bed, staring at her computer screen as she waited for a response from her online friend. She was nervous about their upcoming trip, but she expected to feel something more. Even with Jasper's calming presence accompanying her to Honduras, she wished she felt more at ease. At odds with herself since graduation, she just wished that she would feel, more, what? Excitement? Accomplishment? Bella couldn't quite place exactly what she was looking for.

Regardless of her current train of thought, she knew that whatever it was she was looking for, she was unlikely to find it in the Honduran countryside. "Is there even civilization in Honduras", Bella thought to herself, "or is it just a big expanse of nothingness?" Nothingness might be fitting, as that would be a good description for how she frequently felt about her daily life right now. Post-graduation life definitely hadn't turned out like she expected.

Since graduation day, Bella had been fighting off a general sense of unease. She knew what she wanted out of life, she just didn't know how to go about getting it. That thought left her whole being with a dark cloud over her life. The one bright spot was her relationship with Jasper.

He always knew just what to say to cheer her up. Jasper had always known just what to say and do to bring her out of her funk. She had tried dating him for a few months back in their freshman year of college. That was a mistake quickly rectified as they both realized that they made far better friends than lovers. Ever since then they had become best friends and had an easy camaraderie with each other.

Jasper was the one person who truly 'knew' Bella. There was no way she would have agreed to go on this adventure with anyone else. Just as if he were materializing out of her thoughts, Jasper walked back into her bedroom with a plate full of sandwiches. He held it out to her silently and she gratefully took one, not caring where the crumbs fell. She chewed as the computer chimed and managed a smile as she sent back a response.

"So, what's happening in cyberspace that's finally turned your frown upside down?" Jasper smirked as he sat down on the bed opposite of her placing the plate between them.

"Well, as it turns out, the girl I've been chatting with? Alice? Her whole family is joining a group that is going to be down there the same time as we are. I might actually get to meet her face to face." Bella's face finally showed a hint of a smile, Jasper jumped on it. He let her ramble on and on about her online friend and all that they had talked about for the next few hours.

Jasper was worried about Bella. Ever since she broke up with her boyfriend of 2 years, she had been despondent. Jasper saw it coming but like a train wreck was powerless to stop it. Her relationship with Alec had become stagnant and stale. It was old and getting older. There was nothing there between Bella and Alec but a comfortable sense of familiarity. Unfortunately for Bella, Alec had already had a beautiful woman waiting in the wings for him.

Alec's new girlfriend, Jane, was the antonym of plain, where Bella was the synonym. At least, that was how she saw herself. If she would just dig a little deeper inside herself, she would see all that she had the potential to be. It was true that their lives seemed anticlimactic right now, but Jasper saw nothing wrong with that. Bella, as content as she was with her lot in life, was always searching for the elusive something special. That one special place where she felt like she finally fit in and belonged. She never second-guessed herself, and once she had a decision made, she didn't waiver from it, instead going along until it had run its course. Her relationship with Alec was a perfect example. Her relationship with her mother Renee was another.

Jasper knew that Bella's relationship with her mother was strained at best. Where Bella looked out for others, Renee's first thought was only of herself. In fact, Renee's first, last and every thought in between were of herself. He knew that they loved each other dearly, but that was all they had in common. Renee was as flighty as Bella was grounded. Where her mother had never wanted to put down roots, Bella's body ached to be firmly planted somewhere where her soul could be nurtured and allowed to grow. He knew that Bella carefully avoided conversations with her mother beyond polite notes and messages. Not because she didn't love her, as Bella loved her mother dearly. But she could barely tolerate Renee's latest flight of fancy and instead of confronting her, Bella choose to let her mother be.

"By the way, while I was downstairs, your mother asked where you were going to store all your stuff while you were gone. I think she wants to make sure you take it all with you." Jasper picked up another sandwich ripping off the crust, then placing it back on the plate before biting into the sandwich. Without hesitation, Bella picked up the crust and began munching on it. It was one of their many comfortable rituals that had developed over time.

They looked around her sparsely furnished bedroom sharing a laugh as they ate. Bella didn't really have a lot of 'stuff'. Moving from city to city with her mother and then going through college, there never seemed to be a point in collecting 'stuff'. In hindsight, she probably should have stayed with her father in Washington. Then her 'stuff' wouldn't be a concern for her mother. "She's only worried that if my stuff is here, she's going to have to stay here with it. I'll email my dad and ask him if I can store it with him in Washington. Maybe I can ship everything to his house. At least he's been in the same state since birth." Bella's voice was strong but Jasper could tell the underlying tension was there.

She hated to think she was anything like the flighty and rootless Renee, but that was exactly the feeling that she was trying to avoid. It was a pretty easy decision for Bella to join this trip. The decision was even easier once Bella knew that her online friend was going. Jasper could have hugged the computer as well as Bella's online friend for making this trip easier. He probably would have too, if he didn't think Bella would get suspicious of him hugging a chunk of machinery. Bella just desperately wanted to find out where she belonged in the world and contribute something to it.

"How is Charlie these days? Didn't you say he was running for an election or something?" Jasper picked up another half a sandwich again pulling the crusts off, handing them to Bella and knowing that she would eat them. She would never waste food.

"Yeah, and he won believe it or not. He's now the Sheriff of Clallam County in Washington State; a nice promotion from the Chief of Police in Port Angeles. At least Charlie is doing something he loves." Bella sighed as she opened up her email account to email her dad.

"Bells, snap out of it. We'll go on this trip and you can figure out where your life is headed after we get back. We're going to leave this Friday right? So, let's pack up our crap and get started on this trip already." Jasper leaned over and hugged his friend briefly before getting up to go.

Edward was in his room packing, thinking over the events of the past few months. He walked over to the cd player, set it to randomly play, then moved to the queen size bed sitting down heavily on it. He would have given anything to have his small twin size bed back. Esme had made changes in his old bedroom as soon as he asked Tanya to marry him, the same as she did when Emmett had asked Rose years ago.

One by one their old bedrooms were becoming guest suites as Esme looked forward to family reunions with all her children and future grandchildren. Meaning only to welcome Rose and Tanya into the house, she hadn't considered how profound the changes really were. But then again she probably wasn't planning on either of her sons being dumped by their fiancé after they were found in bed with another man.

Never one to make Esme feel bad about changing his old bedroom, he let it go and kept it how she had redone it. He was now stuck with a massive bed that was just too big for one person and that felt alien and cold to him. Like all mothers, Esme had only Edward's best intentions in mind so he couldn't fault her for that, he realized as he stood to finish packing.

Of course, no one from his family would give voice to their fear that Edward was just a step on Tanya's staircase and he would be discarded as soon as something better came along. Rather, his family only cautioned, time and again he realized, for him to just make sure that asking Tanya to marry him was exactly what he wanted. He thought back and wondered just when did his life get so complicated?

He tried to think back to everything his family ever said about Tanya, sadly he had to admit, they were right all along. In fact, he had to give them some credit. They all let him know he needed to get over her, but not one of them said 'I told you so', although he was pretty sure that Alice and Emmett were thinking it.

How had he let himself get sucked into such a horrific relationship with someone so superficial? He had always prided himself on being able to read people well and on making friends with good quality people. He always told himself that he would never become "that guy", the one that lets a woman get her claws into him and has nothing more to offer him than being nice arm-candy. The woman he always planned to give his heart to was supposed to be someone his family would love instantly, someone he could be proud of. Someone who could just look at him and smile for no reason at all other than she loved him as much as he loved her.

This whole situation had turned his emotions upside down and left Edward questioning everything he ever thought about women and relationships. He wondered if he really was as good at judging someone's character as he used to believe he was. One thing he knew for sure was that the next time he would not give his heart away so easily. He would be careful and guarded. He would make sure she was someone his family loved before he let himself get too emotionally involved. "Well, at least I'm spending the next month in the middle of nowhere. I'll be able to take my mind off of women for a while" he said to no one in particular as he placed his last item in his suitcase and zipped it up.

Bella made a mental list of everything as she watched Jasper load their luggage into the car, making sure they hadn't forgotten anything. "Clothes, towels, sheets, pillows, passport...my mind?" Bella had asked herself that question a number of times over the past few weeks that they had spent preparing for this trip. When she had agreed to this trip months ago it had seemed like a dream, something that sounded good in theory, but would never really happen. Now that this trip was upon them, she wondered why she ever thought this was a good idea.

It wasn't that she had anything against the country, the people, the project, or traveling in general. She was just nervous. She was entering the unknown. While Bella had spent the past few months researching the country and learning many details, such as the fact that they spoke Spanish, the average family income was approximately $900/year, education is only free for children until about 5th grade; there were so many things she did not know. These were the important things, such as where would she be going to the bathroom when they were out working in the villages, and do they actually have a plumbing system? Would the camp have electrical sockets? Should she have packed more granola bars in case she didn't like the food?

She wished she could be as confident about this trip as Jasper was. She hadn't seen him this excited since they had graduated. She was grateful that her friendship with Jasper had lasted so many years. With his help and constant companionship navigating the college campus and life in general was just easier. Jasper balanced out all of Bella's insecurities. He knew how much she despised Renee's flights of fancy, and he comforted her throughout each move. At least Renee always stayed in a suburb of Jacksonville, making it easier for her and Jasper to stay in touch and keep close.

Jasper had a much different upbringing in Texas and Bella suspected that was one reason why they didn't last as a couple. She had just felt too insecure to stay with someone who wasn't in her same class. Jasper's family was as wealthy as she and Renee were poor. He had offered to help Bella time and again, but she was just too proud. Even now, knowing that after this trip, she would not be returning to Florida. She was going to try to make a life closer to her father in the rainy Pacific Northwest. She was confident that Jasper and his always handy trust fund would follow.

He didn't have to work for his living but he didn't flaunt his family's wealth either. One of the reasons they got along so well, was although he didn't _have_ to work he certainly _wanted_ to work. He wasn't content to just live off his mother and father. He had to contribute; he was compelled to give back. Bella laughed as she thought back to the awkward time when they dated and again sent up a silent prayer of thanks that her friendship with Jasper outlasted their lust for each other.

As she made her way back into the dingy apartment she shared with her mother, she let her mind wander. While she packed up several of her last minute items, she thought of Renee's brief good-bye to her that morning. She wasn't able to cancel her hot air balloon ride so she wasn't able to drive them to the airport. As if they didn't have a backup plan. Renee was notoriously harebrained and they always knew not to count on her for anything.

Bella couldn't exactly put her finger on why she had so many reservations. There really wasn't anything holding her back. She was a college graduate with no potential job or relationship prospects. She assumed it was more to do with the fact that she liked comfort. She may not have led the most exciting life, but she was comfortable. She led a very easy going, low stress life. This trip was going to be something totally new. She would be stepping so far out of her comfort zone; she wasn't sure she was ready for this. She hoped she was, because at that moment she heard Jasper yell.

"Bella! C'mon! Let's get this show on the road." He said as he stood in the doorway of what used to be her bedroom. Having stripped it of all her 'stuff' and sent what she didn't need to her father, the room now looked even uglier and more dingy than she had thought it to be. She shook her head sadly as they made their way back to the car in the parking lot.

As they climbed into the little car, Jasper looked over to her. "Are you sure you're ready for this Bella?" He asked with more concern written on his face than was present in his voice.

"Here goes nothing." Bella said as she slid her sunglasses into place and smiled.

A long black limo pulled up to the drive at SeaTac Airport. A number of passersby stopped to see who would be arriving at the airport in such style. As the doors opened, out stepped a group of beautiful and immaculately dressed people. Each of them wearing designer clothing, and each of them was stunning in their own way. They had such an air of confidence about them, it drew people to stare at them. From the way they were dressed, you'd think they were having dinner with the Queen of England. By the looks on their faces, none of the people who passed them would guess that this group was headed to the remote villages of Honduras to take part in a charity event.

The Cullen family made it through check-in without any difficulty. Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme had decided to book flights in First Class, while Alice decided she was going to take in the 'full experience' and travel in coach the whole way down. She was hoping that on the flight from Houston to Honduras she would have the opportunity to sit next to someone who knew more about the country and that she would be able to ask lots of questions.

Even though they arrived at the airport in the suggested time frame, by the time they got to their gate, they still had over an hour until it would be time to board their flight to Houston. Alice decided to pull out her laptop and log-in to the online forum one last time to see if there was anyone available that she could hound for last minute information. The next thing her family heard was a shriek of delight from Alice.

"Oh my gosh! Bella's on! She's in the Jacksonville airport right now waiting to board her flight to Houston! What are the chances? I can't believe I'm finally going to meet her. I just know we are going to be the best of friends!" Alice looked over at her family and smiled. Everyone returned her smile except Edward, who mumbled incoherently from behind his _American Medical Association Journal_.

"What was that brother _dear_?" His sister's eyes became narrow slits as she stared him down.

Edward just rolled his eyes and mumbled, "I doubt she's anything special Alice. You probably shouldn't get your hopes up."

"How can you say that Edward? You don't even know her! Bella is thoughtful and kind and sounds very sweet." Alice defended her friend, not even knowing if she really was or not, but going with her gut feeling on this one.

"I know her better than you think." Edward growled at his sister. "She's from Florida right? You know, the only reason she is probably going to Honduras is to work on her tan, not to help work with the people." To show that their conversation was over, Edward turned the page of his medical magazine and pretended to read it.

"I know she's wonderful. You'll see." Alice shut her laptop as she huffed at her brother. Her patience was wearing thin with his constant pessimistic attitude these days.

A few minutes later they heard an announcement crackle overhead, "Now boarding flight 152 to Houston, Texas."

Jasper and Bella were navigating their way through Houston's George Bush Airport. 'Holy cow, this place is like a city in itself,' Bella thought to herself. Their trip from Jacksonville to Houston had gone without interruption for which she was grateful that she was able to sit next to Jasper. Bella had spoken with Alice online briefly while they waited for their flight to board in Jacksonville. She had been talking with Alice online for quite some time and had grown to really like her.

It was a very rare occurrence that she found a girl that she could stand to be around, even online, for any significant period of time. In general Bella found most girls to be superficial and catty, spending the majority of their time talking about things she had little patience for and even less knowledge of. She only hoped that they would continue to like each other once they met face to face.

They were supposed to be traveling from Terminal B to Terminal E, for international flights. The sign up above said that they had to take the shuttle to get there.

"A shuttle? We have to take a shuttle to get from one part of the airport to the other? You Texans just gotta show everyone up don't ya? All that 'everything is bigger in Texas business'." she lightly nudged him.

"Bella, you already know they make things bigger in Texas." Jasper wagged his eyebrows playfully at her. She made to punch in him in the arm, but Jasper just grabbed her by the waist pulling her alongside him. To any other outsider they looked like a sweet young couple possibly traveling on their honeymoon to a tropical paradise. But between the two of them, they were just thankful to have found such a special friendship in one another.

They finally made is across the expanse of airport that was probably close to the size of Sequim, Washington, where Bella's father lives. Bella made one last stop at Starbucks. Who knew when she would have another opportunity for a hot cup of Joe in the morning. They finally made it to their gate and pulled out their boarding passes. They sat down as they waited for the First Class passengers to board.

Unfortunately for Bella's nerves, it looked like they wouldn't be sitting next to each other on this flight. Bella was nervous about sitting next to a stranger who would try to speak to her in Spanish while she looked at them dumbfounded in return. Not that she was completely clueless, she had taken a few years of Spanish in high school, but that had been a long time ago she realized as she fished her pocket dictionary out of the bottom of her bag just in case. Growing up in Texas, Jasper had picked up on Spanish better than Bella and sat, unaffected listening to his iPod.

After watching her wrestle with her bag, he calmly picked it up and took the book out for her. He then took an earbud from his iPod and tucked it into her ear so the music could help calm her down as well. As Bella and Jasper sat sharing their iPod, listening to music in a cozy corner near their gate, they looked up and saw a group of beautiful, perfectly dressed individuals making their way to board in first class.

"What in the world are they going to Honduras looking like that for?" Bella questioned as she removed the bud to talk to Jasper.

"They must be planning to take a flight from Tegucigalpa to Roatan where all the tourists go so they can hit up the beaches. Surely they aren't planning to leave the main city dressed like that." Jasper chuckled.

Bella looked down at her old jeans, high school t-shirt, and chacos. She was always more comfortable in this type of clothing. She couldn't bring herself to spend her money on designer clothes and handbags, but looking at this group of people, she couldn't help by feel a little self-conscious. Jasper, as if he could read her every thought, nudged her with his elbow as he leaned down and whispered "Stop worrying, you're dressed perfectly."

Before they knew it, it was their time to board. As they stood, Jasper made a comment about them flying in the steerage compartment, which caused Bella to laugh out loud and quickly hide her crimson face under her chestnut colored waves as people turned to look. As they made their way through the rows, Jasper stopped, finding his seat. As he placed his bag in the storage bin above, he said "Don't worry, Bells. It's only a few hours. Take this time to get ready for our next great adventure." And with that, he slid his tall frame uncomfortably into his seat.

Bella moved a few more rows back and was the first person to make it into her row. She removed her own iPod from her book bag and stowed the bag under her seat. She figured that if she needed to look distracted she could always pull a book out from it. Of course, this would all depend on who sat in the seat next to her. As she listened to her music with her eyes closed, she waited for the rest of the flight to board. She suddenly felt someone bounce down into the seat beside her.

As her eyes popped open, she was surprised to find one of those beautiful people sitting beside her and staring right at her face. She jumped just a little when she came to the realization that she had wrongfully assumed they would all be sitting in first class. The two girls studied each other for a moment. This girl looked awfully familiar to Bella but she couldn't place it. She had a picture in her head, but the girl she was thinking of had longer hair, while this girl had short, spiky hair. But those eyes looked so familiar that Bella couldn't believe that she would ever forget them. She gasped when it finally hit her who this person could possibly be.

"Are you..." Bella began as she continued to search the face that she had only previously seen in pictures.

"Bella?" The girl responded as she lunged herself at Bella to hug her. "I'm Alice!"

Bella sat there wide-eyed with her arms wrapped around this stranger. She was stunned at the girl's overt friendliness, even though they had been chatting online for almost a year. She barely had time to move her hands out of her lap before she was sucked into Alice's embrace. Nonetheless, she felt compelled to return the hug and was surprised to find that she was just as comfortable entwined in this girl's embrace as she was in Jasper's. The thought made her move her arms away in confusion. Could she possibly be friends with someone as beautiful and full of confidence as this?

"Alice, it's so nice to finally meet you in person." Bella said, trying to hide her confusion and embarrassment as she realized that the people nearby were now starting to stare. Alice seemed unaffected by it and Bella had the thought that she was probably one of those people that was used to being looked at, craving to be the center of attention.

"Oh I'm sorry, I almost forgot. I remember you mentioned that you don't like being the focus of attention. It's just so nice to finally meet you." Alice sat back in her own seat and buckled her seatbelt, barely removing her eyes from Bella's face. "Didn't your friend come with you?" She asked, making pleasant conversation with Bella and trying to help her feel more at ease.

"Oh yeah. He's a few rows up ahead of us. Is your family with you?" Bella took in a few deep breaths of the already stale airplane air and was starting to relax when Alice's next words hit her.

"Oh, they're up front in first class. I couldn't let my future niece or nephew travel back here with the riff-raff." Alice's face paled even more as Bella looked down, pretending to study her iPod. "Oh my gosh Bella, that is so not how I meant it. I just meant that, well, Rose, my sister-in-law? She's had such a hard time staying pregnant and I am just super concerned for her and wanted her to be as comfortable as…" Alice's voice faltered as Bella cut her off.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'm sure I've been called worse, maybe not to my face, but yeah." Bella voice faltered off as she lost her train of thought. She glanced up from her iPod and dared a look over at Alice, hoping that she didn't notice her eyes were stinging with unshed tears.

How could she have thought that someone as stunning as Alice would ever want to be friends with the likes of her? She made quick eye contact and gave just a hint of a smile to let Alice know that the words hadn't affected her; she just hoped that the other girl fell for it.

"Bella, honestly, that's not at all what I meant. I am just really concerned for my family. I wanted her to be comfortable and my dad and brother are both doctors so I wanted them all to sit together in case something happens. Please don't be offended by it. I really am not the snob I just made you think I am." Alice tried humor as a way to get back in Bella's good graces.

"It's no problem Alice, really. I didn't take any offense at all. I am use to sitting in steerage." And though the words were said, it was obvious that they were taken as a dagger straight through Bella's already fragile heart.

"You did take offense to it though. I am so stupid Bella. There's really no excuse for what I said and I am going to try to make it up to you this whole trip." Alice stopped speaking as a voice over the intercom crackled.

"May I have your attention. Please place your tray tables in the upright and locked position as we prepare for take off. Our next stop will be Tegucigalpa, Honduras."

"Oh Bella," Alice said as she reached over and gripped her hand. "I just know we are going to be the best of friends."

Bella just nodded her head slightly; her thoughts were focused solely on Jasper and his earlier words as she mumbled a sarcastic, "Next great adventure indeed."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 02 – Arrival

Bella had no idea of what to expect sitting here next to the girl she had considered the closest thing she had to a girlfriend for so long now. She got the 'tone' of Alice's personality from her emails but there was nothing in them that would have even given the barest hint of…_this_. The girl next to her hadn't stopped chatting away since she insulted Bella and then quickly apologized for it.

Bella didn't know if the reason for the extreme talking was from embarrassment over the insult she hurled at her or if it was genuine and she was just normally like this. She decided to go with the first option since the second one made her want to stop all communication with Alice right then and there. But then again, she had insulted Bella and all but called her white trash, ; could she just get over it and continue a friendship with someone like that? And did she want to? Once again her thoughts were interrupted as Alice launched into another topic.

"'Wow," ,' Bella thought to herself, "'this girl is like the Energizer Bunny." .' She knew from their online communication that Alice was very friendly and easy to talk to, but she had no idea just how...chipper, she would be in person. Nevertheless, after that initial blunder of their first meeting, Bella did find herself feeling very relaxed and comfortable.

With Alice, regardless of the extreme exuberance, Bella had begun to feel at home. It was almost like she matched her mother in over eagerness, but where Renee was flighty and made snap decisions that usually resulted in disaster, Alice's exuberance was done with confidence and thoughtfully planned out. She seemed to know exactly what needed to be done and did it, without wreaking havoc on everyone within a 12 twelve foot radius. If it were Renee, chaos would definitely rear its ugly head. Besides, hadn't Alice mentioned that she organized her whole family's trip to Honduras?

Bella knew they should be approaching their destination soon and was starting beginning to get a little nervous. She had never left the United States before, and her thoughts seemed to mirror Alice's words as far as the pace at which they raced along. Alice, for her part, barely seemed to notice that Bella wasn't contributing to the conversation. With her mind racing a million miles a minute, Bella was thinking of what things would be like once they got off the plane. Although she had been distracted with her own thoughts, her head immediately shot up and her eyes became alert when she heard the words from Alice's mouth.

"Did you know that the Tegucigalpa airport has the second shortest landing strip in the world?" Alice wasn't hadn't become aware of Bella's panicked reaction, nor did she wait for her to answer before she continued on.

"Yes, really, it's true. pilots Pilots have to have a special license to fly into and out of this airport. When we come in over the mountains we have to angle down really fast, and once we hit the ground, they have to slam on the brakes really hard, so hang onto your armrests. You know, when I was looking around I found a news report less than a year ago where the plane didn't stop fast enough and it ended up messing up part of the terminal." Alice finished without even having to pause for a single breath.

"'Oh gosh," ,' Bella thought as she groaned, "'I was not prepared for this." .' She closed her eyes and seemed to hold her breath as the pilot announced "Prepare for landing" and while the plane made a sudden slant downward.

It appeared that Alice had chosen to respect Bella's need for a moment of silence as they landed. But once the plane completely stopped she simply started right back up again.

"Bella! That was so exciting, wasn't it? I could see all mountains and beautiful landscape! Oh, I had no idea it would be so beautiful. It's too bad you had your eyes closed. Oh well, I suppose you will be able to see plenty of it during your time here."

Bella cut in, "Alice...Alice! Could you please tone it down...just for a minute?" She pleaded with her voice shaking. "I just need to get it together really fast. I haven't been on many flights before and that just took me off guard. Just give me a minute, please." Bella was trying her best to calm down. As she took a few deep breaths and she closed her eyes, she pinchedpinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

After a minute Bella realized that Alice had indeed granted her request and become became extremely quiet. It Complete silence wasn't something she thought Alice could actually doachieve, ; and after the listening to her talk so much on the flight it somehow felt alien to her. She chanced a look up only to see Alice staring directly at her with her head tilted with and a somewhat curious expression on her face.

"Umm...Alice, what are you staring at?" Bella felt unnerved by the expression that she saw on Alice's face.

Alice shook her head, and quickly composed composing herself as she responded "Oh, nothing," ." and started looking around as if she had not been staring intently at Bella for the past few minutes.

"Alice, really. I know we have not known each other in person for very long, but I know that look wasn't for nothing. Just tell me." Bella's nervousness was already at its peak from the flight and she didn't know just how much more she could take.

Alice looked thoughtful for a moment before she responded, "You just, you reminded me of someone when you did that thing where you grab the bridge of your nose. It's nothing really, you just looked exactly like him when you did it, that's all." Alice shrugged and hoped that Bella would just let the conversation drop;, the relief on her face was evident when Bella did.

"Oh, well, okay then," ." Bella responded and putputting her iPod back in her bag to get readyin preparation to exit the plane.

As the plane pulled up to its gate, they continued to gather their belongings. As While they waited to exit, Bella's nervousness returned. She tried to think of Jasper and allowing her calm returned again, knowing that at least one person was happy that she was on this trip with him. She knew she could always lean on him and or talk to him when she started to feel this way. Bella, for probably the millionth time since she knew met him, envied Jasper and his ability to calm her down with just a few spoken words or a stare. His presence was so calming to Bella, she sometimes had difficulty remembering why they didn't work out as a couple.

All of a sudden the fasten seatbelt sign turned off and everyone shot out of their seats at once. It was a cacophony of noise, hearing people speaking loudly at one another in both English and Spanish. When it came time, Bella and Alice moved into the aisle and made making their way off the plane.

Once they exited the plane they had only walked a few feet before Alice suddenly shouted, "Oh look! There's my family over there! I better head over to them so we can all go through customs together. I can notcannot wait for you to meet them! I hope we will be traveling on the same bus to get to Catacamas! It's so exciting, we will be staying in the same city! Anyway, I'll see you soon!"

She swooped in for a quick hug before turning and bouncing away to meet her family, which were, of course, the rest of the beautiful clan she had seen before boarding the plane in Houston. Bella took them all in. She noticed a beautiful looking older couple, possibly Alice's parents? There was another big guy who was standing with his arms wrapped around a beautiful blonde-haired girl who appeared to be, pregnant? Wow. Then there was a tall, slender guy with hair going every direction that had his back to her. Each of them held an air of confidence about them that Bella had never had with herself. Bella moved away slightly as she realized that the closer to the beautiful people she stood, the uglier and more plain she thought of herself.

Bella was suddenly jostled by a group of passengers trying to get past her. They were definitely hurling insults at the lost American in Spanish. She realized with a flush of embarrassment that she was standing in the middle of the walkway just staring straight ahead with what was sure to be a dumbfounded look on her face. Her mind began to race as she realized she had no idea where she was going and started breathing rapidly. "'Okay, just look for a sign with a picture of suitcase or something. Follow the locals, surely they will know where they are going. Where is Jasper?" ?' Bella was now becoming increasingly anxious.

Of course, thankfully, at that moment she heard music to her ears, "Bella, it's just like you to stand in the middle of the aisle looking like you are trying to catch flies. C'mon, let's hurry up and get through customs so we can get on our way!" Jasper grabbed her by the hand and started pulling her along.

They made is through the line for customs without difficulty and started began making their way to baggage. Soon they walked into a room that had luggage sitting everywhere. Where in the world were the nice roundabouts with electronic signs telling you which one held the luggage for which flight?

"Well, guess we better get to looking for our bags, shall we?" Jasper muttered beside her.

Thirty minutes later they had gone through every bag in the room, multiple times. They had checked all the name tags, and asked every person in sight if they had the right bag. Jasper was running around like a crazy person as if he were the one whose bags had been lost...which they weren't. Jasper had his suitcase and backpack securely in hand. Bella's bags on the other hand, were no wherenowhere to be found. They had spoken with security, as best they could, and they were assured that Bella's bags would be sent to the camp as soon as they were found.

"This is definitely NOT what I envisioned our 'adventure' to be Jazz. What the heck am I gonna do? I have no clothes, toiletries, bed sheets, towels." Bella held out her fingers and started counting off the fingers on one hand. "I have nothing! Ugh! Way to start this trip off on the wrong foot." She groaned as Jasper took both her hands in his.

"Bella, everything is going to be just fine. I have plenty of t-shirts and shorts and stuff that you can borrow until you either get your bags or are able to go to the store to pick some things up. I mean, you wear my clothes in back home all the time. Granted, it's in private, where no one sees you, but you look fine, great even. Don't worry about it. Everything is going to be okay." Jasper took a stray lock of Bella's hair and brushed it gently away from her forehead where it was plastered with perspiration. "Now let's go find where we are supposed to be meeting our group. Everyone else is probably waiting for us by now."

"You don't understand…I have no extra underwear, I only have the bra I am wearing! Jazz, I have nothing except what I am wearing!" Panic was now setting in on Bella and as she started to flush with embarrassment even more.

"Bella, baby, you know if you wanted to get into my pants, all you had to do was just ask. There was no need to hide your luggage." Jasper put his arm casually around Bella's shoulder and grippedgripping her tightly, willing her to calm down and find the humor in the situation. Of course, with the look of complete confidence on Jasper's face, she did just exactly that.

Bella let out an unladylike snort which caused several people to turn around and which in turn had Bella turning her own head to fling her hair in her face. "My life is beyond hopeless right now. Remind me why we broke up?" Bella laughed again as Jasper grabbed her hands and lacedlacing their fingers together comfortably.

"I don't remember Bells. When you remember why you broke up with me, you are going to have to fill me in sometime." Jasper leaned down and kissed the top of her head as he turned them in the direction of where the crowds were headed.

Soon enough they saw a few groups of Americans in the outer portion of the terminal. Each had a person holding a sign designating what group they were associated with. They saw a sign for "'Doctors without Borders", ', then a group for "'Roatan". '.

"Man, wish I were going to the beach right about now," ." Bella mumbled under her breath. She felt like losing her luggage was surely an omen showing her what the rest of the trip was supposed to be like. The very last group they came to had a young Honduran looking couple holding a sign saying "'Habitat for Humanity". '. A number of other American volunteers were hugging these individuals and, greeting them as if they were old friends. Bella assumed it must be people who were returning to Honduras as volunteers. As they approached the group the younger Honduras Honduran man made their his way towards them.

"You must be Bella and Jasper. I am Alberto. That is my wife Anna over there. We have been waiting for you guys to get here. Everyone is hungry and ready to eat but we did not want to lose you guystwo." Bella was surprised at how well he spoke English through his thick accent. Bella She and Jasper shook Alberto's hands warmly.

"Wow. Do you just pack light or where are you bags?" Alberto stated looking at Bella.

"They lost my bags," ." Bella muttered, trying hard not to just burst into tears of frustration..

"Do not worry. This is Honduras. Things like that happen all the time. Your bags should get to us within a few days time." Alberto shrugged, apparently he was use to people's clothing becoming a casualty of travel.

"Great. Just a few days. No big deal right?" Bella stated as Jasper nudged her in the side.

"Well, I think I know just the think thing to help brighten your day. Everyone listen up." Alberto addressed the group of approximately 20 twenty people. "Before we get on the bus we are going to be eating here at the airport. Your choices are pretty much, well, Wendy's."

"Did you just say...Wendy's? Like...burgers, french fries, and frosty's? Wendy's?" Bella let the words tumble out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop herself.

Alberto just chuckled to himself as he said "Yes. You might want to enjoy it because you will not have it again until you come back here to head back home. Also, they take American moneycurrency, but after you finish eating come find my wife and I and we will help you exchange some of your money for Honduran money currency before we get on the bus."

Bella never gave a second thought to the exchange of money, her mind was still hung up on the fact that he had said there was a Wendy's, in Honduras! "Where is it?" she statedquestioned, her eyes darting around.

Alberto had no more than pointed in the direction general vicinity of the restaurant as Bella was hurriedly dragging Jasper in that direction, muttering to herself. "I'm gonna get a huge cheeseburger, large fries, and the biggest frosty they have."

No sooner had they ordered their food, Bella was shoving her face with her Frosty frosty stating "Okay, so maybe Honduras isn't so bad after all."

Jasper just chuckled as he ate his own burger and fries. "This is why I keep you around. You are so easy to please Bella. You find pleasure in the simplest of things."

"You have no idea how out of my element I am here Jazz. I was separated from you during the flight. Alice chatted _at_ me the entire time, I barely got a word in at all. The plane about dropped from the sky while landing. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that the only clothing I have is what I am currently wearing. This little meal here? Is my only reminder of me, of Bella. Simple thing or not, this is my element." Bella spooned a mouthful of chocolate frosty into her mouth and moaned, licking her lips as she closed her eyes. She was completely unaware that she held more than one man's attention until Jasper gave her a kick under the table.

"Bella. I know that look, and you had better erase it from your face right now. Jeez, are you trying to drive every male in here insane?" He asked as he leaned forward to whisper to her and puting his arms on the table.

"Sorry Jazz." Bella immediately looked contrite and shook her hair forward, forming her every present veil to hide herself from everyone.

"No, don't hide it Bella. This is what you are trying to get away from. What happened to trying to find yourself while you are out here?" Jasper reached over the table and tucked Bella's hair away from her face and behind each ear. "You were going to do things differently…remember those plans?"

"Jasper, things haven't exactly gone according to plan so far. What exactly should I be doing? I am willing to try, but it just feels like that little black rain cloud has followed the plane the whole way here." Bella sighed and pushedpushing her empty frosty cup away from her as she sat back and rested her hands on her full stomach.

Jasper had to agree and couldn't hold back his laugh. "Yeah, it does seem like it followed you here didn't doesn't it?"

"Oh shut it Jazz," Bella said as they got up and threw their trash away, heading back to find the rest of the group.

They made it back to Alberto where the rest of the group had started to gather again. Once everyone had made it back Alberto explained that they should each take out enough American money to exchange that they thought they would spend within the first week. He recommended around 30-to 40 dollars, as most of their expenses were covered except for sodas or snacks, and they would not be shopping in any touristy areas the first week of the trip. They would have plenty of other opportunities to exchange money in the future if they felt they needed more money.

Soon enough Alberto called Bella and Jasper to come with him to exchange their money.

"This seems kind of sketchy don't you think?" Bella murmured as they followed closely behind Alberto.

"Sketchy? Bella, he has been doing this forever. Just trust him. And by the way, he is Honduran, not deaf. He can hear you." Jasper said with a smile as they followed closely behind Alberto.

Jasper had not finished saying stating that than when Alberto turned to Bella chuckling, "Don't worry. You are not the first, and you will not be the last who thinks our system is weird. You just have to remember, you are in a different country now. Things are going to be very different sometimes. I promise if you let go of whatever you are holding onto, you will have a much better experience here. Plus, this way will give the best exchange rate." Alberto shrugged, leaving Bella to decide for herself how best to handle the situation. He knew he had just hit the nail on the head when it came to dealing with Bella and her apprehension regarding the whole 'going with it' theory.

Soon enough they came up to a man who was sitting at a bench looking around. As they approached he turned in close to Alberto stating, "How much?"

Bella and Jasper handed over their money and the man handed back a large stack of bills to each of them in turn.

As they walked away Bella stated, "You know, I feel like a criminal, but that was so much cooler than going to the bank."

"Atta girl." Jasper responded, and as he gently rubbed her back reassuringly he saw a glimmer of a real smile grace Bella's face for the first time since they had landed.

Soon enoughEventually everyone was gathered together once again and while Alberto was announcing the travel situation to Catacamas.

"For those of you who don't know, both the 'Habitat for Humanity' group and the 'Doctors without Borders' group stay at the same camp in Catacamas, but we will be traveling in separate busses down there because we have too many people for one bus. We will be making one stop for snacks, drinks, and bathroom break on the way there. Okay everyone, let's head to the bus." Alberto gave a big wave with his hand and the herd of people started to move. When they arrived at the busses, Bella couldn't stop the laugh that erupted as that arrived at the bus they would be traveling in.

"Now this is what I call traveling in style. My adventure starts now Jazz!" Bella beamed up at Jasper as she smiled her childlike smile. Jasper was so caught up in Bella's innocent declaration, and Bella was so caught up in the big yellow bus that neither of them were aware that they were being watched by others from both groups.

Jasper just smacked her lightly on the butt and said "Just get your butt on that bus crazy girl."

"Okay, but I get to sit in the very back. That's where the best bumps happen!" With that Bella took off for a run toward the door of the bus Alberto indicated with a smile. With more grace than he ever had in her whole life, Bella made her way onto the bus and dragged dragging Jasper to the very last seat. She pulled him down to sit next to her and looked briefly looked out the window to see Alice arguing with someone. Bella recognized him as being one of the 'beautiful people' from her family. Again, she could see Alice from the angle she held herself at, but the man was tilted away and seemed seeming to be giving her a hard time.

Bella's heart went out to her new friend until she remembered that it was her family and she had plenty of support. She waved quickly as Alice smiled and waved enthusiastically at her. Bella wondered absently how many calories Alice burned off with that wave alone, the girl had practically used her whole body to simply wave goodbye. Bella's apprehension of the trip faded away as she quickly looked back at Jasper, releasing her full smile on him. He casually put his arm around her shoulder and drew her into his chest as he kissed the top of her hair.

"That's my girl," ." Jasper said as Bella continued to smile. She pulled away from him only to rest her arms on the seat in front of her and lean forward. As the bus pulled away, Jasper was relieved to see that the smile on Bella's face stayed firmly in place…they were on their way.

Edward's gaze was drawn to a tall blonde boy as he reached down and tucked a strand of hair behind the ear of a petite girl with long, wavy, brown hair. It was such a simple act, yet it seemed so intimate. The way they looked at one another, there was such understanding. It was almost as if they were speaking to one another without saying a word, never breaking eye contact. Edward felt as if he were invading on an extremely personal moment just by looking at them, almost as if he were peeping into their bedroom window. He sighed, thinking that he had hoped he would be able to escape this kind of stuff by come to Honduras. He only hoped they would not be in his group. He didn't think he would be able to handle having to watch that kind of affection all the time.

He was suddenly startled as the high pitched voice of his sister sounded in his ear, "Edward...what are you looking at?" Alice stated asked as she followed Edward's line of vision. "Oh! Look Edward! That's Bella! And that must be her friend Jasper that she is traveling with."

"That's Bella? And that's her 'friend' Jasper? Alice, did you see them together? I am telling you that is not the way a friend helps another friend." Edward put his bag down in disgust and stood facing his sister with his hands on his hips.

All around them people were scurrying about grabbing for luggage and making sure they were in the right place and loading their belongings on the correct bus. With the rest of his family distracted by the chaos and no one to intercept him, Edward pounced. He was still trying to get his younger sister to see reason. He convinced himself that his reasons for being overprotective of Alice were stemming from childhood. Aside from Emmett, Edward had been Alice's next biggest warrior. These days, with Rose being the focus of all Emmett's attention, Edward felt like he had to be especially diligent in his duties. Indeed, due to her small size, Emmett and Edward both had done their fair share of protecting Alice over the years. It now seemed second nature to him. Trusting of everyone and believing the best of them, Alice had always needed protecting from people that took advantage of her. Edward felt certain that this girl was no exception. He was rationalizing the fact that Tanya had used him and ceremoniously dumped him had nothing to do with it.

"I am so not having this conversation with you. You don't know her like I do Edward. Would she even be on this trip if she were as bad as you are making her out to be? Listen to yourself would you?" Alice slung her laptop bag across her shoulder and picked picking up her purse to hang it awkwardly from her shoulder. It slid down her tiny arm as she reached for her suitcase that lay on the ground by her feet. She was starting to feel overwhelmed as Edward's words constantly hammered away at her resolve.

"Alice, I am only saying this for your own good. , I just don't want you to get hurt. You are too nice to people and they will take advantage of your good nature." Edward reached over and tooktaking his much smaller sister's bag from her to carry it himself.

"I am not a child anymore Edward. I don't need you or Emmett protecting me anymore." Alice's actions belied her fierce words as she reached over to grab her bag back from her brother, only to have it fall again from her arms. "Listen, I know you are only trying to help. I appreciate that, really. But I don't need or want your help right now. Bella is here helping out, and that makes her okay in my book."

Edward's reaction to Alice's words and actions was amusing. He closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger and tried to calm himself down before he spoke again. His eyes shot open as he heard Alice's laugh.

"What?" Edward said, clearly confused by her reaction.

"Nothing Edward, nothing at all." His sister's knowing smile infuriated him further.

"Listen, just promise me…" Edward's words were cut off by the rumble of a bus that has just started its engine. They both gave a short jump as they looked over at it coming to life in a cloud of exhaust.

The rest of Edward's words were drowned out by the bus engine sputtering. They both looked over at the bus and Alice gave a short squeal. As Edward turned back to start in on her again, she started waving frantically toward the bus. Edward turned his head just in time to catch a glimpse of a brown curtain of hair flying forward. He saw her face in his mind, so natural, but still beautiful, which was a trait he did not often come by. She had looked so sweet and innocent from afar, but he could not risk his sister being hurt by someone who appeared to be already telling half-truths. That boy was her friend, sure. And Tanya hadn't really cheated on him...yeah right. Edward briefly thought of trying to sell Alice a bridge right on the spot. He couldn't believe how gullible she was being.

"Alice, people like that are NOT the kind of people you need to be friendly with. I want you to promise me that you will take more care in who you associate with. If you don't, then I will and I will involve dad and Emmett." Edward's hands were back on his hips as the first bus drove away in a puff of smoke.

"You know what Edward? This may have worked in the 6th grade, but just so you know I have been just fine without 'warrior Edward' protecting me for the last few years. Who do you think looked after me while I was away at school and you were so wrapped up in Tanya that you forgot all about your younger sister? I looked after myself and did just fine! So you know what? Back off! Whatever you are thinking you can just forget about it because I am going to…" Alice's words were drowned out by the sounds of the second bus starting up, effectively startling them out of their disagreement for the time being. The two of them stopped arguing long enough to give each other a panicked glare as they grabbed their belongings and headed onto the second bus.

Alice sighed heavily as climbed on just ahead of her brother. There were only two seats left, and they were right next to each other. As she plopped down in the seat she frantically reached into her bag looking for her iPod to let Edward know they were done discussing her friendships. She now understood how people sometimes found her so annoying as she rambled on. As Edward prepared to launch into another spiel, she made an exaggerated show of putting her earbudsear buds in.

As their bus pulled away Alice made a mental note to apologize again to Bella…this time for rambling on during their entire flight to Catacamas. It hadn't occurred to her before that Bella had not exactly responded with all the chatting they had done on the flight, or rather the chatting that Alice herself had done while Bella listened, as she had been so excited to meet the girl, she had not let her get a word in edgewise. If Edward's unsolicited advice helped her learn anything, it was that she would know exactly when to shut up!

Alice was mulling over the flight in her head, thinking about Isabella, and the feeling she had about this girl. She would stand by her words, no matter how much Grumpward tried to be a killjoy. "You're wrong about her Edward. I just know you are. She will show you. I know she will be good for all of us,".

Before they knew it, the bus jump started, leaving exhaust fumes behind, and they were on their way to Catacamas!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Looking out the dusty window, Bella studiously observed her new surroundings as they traveled further and further out of the city. She was surprised to find that there were a number of American fast food restaurants surrounding the immediate airport area, though she supposed she shouldn't have been too shocked, having just gratefully downed a delicious order of cheeseburger and fries. She actually thought that the food was almost better than it was back in the U.S. It had not been all unceremoniously slopped together like it had been made in a processed rush, but actually looked like it had been put together with some thought and the expectation that someone planned on eating it.

To Bella, city life in Honduras did not appear to be too much different than city life in America. Aside from the fact that the people looked different, appearance wise, because of the nationality differences, everything else about them seemed the same. If not for the bright green landscape, Bella could have easily fooled herself into thinking that they were still back in Florida. That thought stopped short as she noticed a little car whipping around the side of their bus between them and the sidewalk. It was completely disregarding the fact that their bus was in the closest lane to said sidewalk as it wildly zoomed past them. Before she knew it, the little car strategically cut in front of them and continued on its way. It happened so quickly that Bella was almost unsure that what she witnessed had just actually happened.

"Oh my gosh! Jazz! Did you just see that? Those people are gonna get themselves killed driving around like that," she exclaimed.

A young man in a seat just across the aisle from them casually laughed as he said, "You'll get used to it. The people here appear to drive like maniacs compared to us Americans, but somehow they all seem to follow the same crazy set of rules. I have never seen anyone get in wreck in the many years I have been visiting this country. It will become second nature to you after a while. If you think that is crazy, try to make sure you take a good look inside of a bus next time we drive past one, especially once we get out of the city."

Bella and Jasper gave a small smile to their fellow traveler before resuming their conversation. As Jasper comforted Bella, she leaned back in her seat muttering, "I sure hope I get used to it, or I'm going to end up having a heart attack before we even get to our next stop. And why in the world would I want to look at people inside a bus? I don't want to look like a crazy American more than I already feel like one."

Soon enough they had made it through the crazy traffic of the crowded city, and were traveling through the mountainous terrain. As the bus bounced along, she relaxed her head against Jasper's shoulder thinking how the country here was really was beautiful. She could see far and wide as they traveled through the mountains and into the countryside.

Jasper nudged Bella to look out the window again. She was surprised to see there were houses built all along the side of the mountains. The houses near and around the city looked like they probably belonged to people who were wealthier, probably associated with Honduran politics or government. Bella vaguely remembered reading somewhere that approximately 5% or less of the people in this country owned more than 90% of the wealth. She supposed on this trip she would be learning more about how the other 95% of the population with less than 10% of the wealth lived.

About thirty minutes outside of the city she realized they were coming up on one of the busses the guy across from them had spoken about. She tried hard not to look in and be nosy, but she knew that she was just too curious to stop herself from doing so. As they slowly passed the other bus she noticed a number of passengers, just as you would expect to see traveling on a bus, and, "Chickens? Are there seriously people carrying live chickens on the city bus?" Bella sat up straighter peering through the windows now, not caring how obviously nosy she was being.

The man across the aisle from them started laughing heartily as he turned to them saying, "I told you to look inside the bus. I saw you trying hard not to, but aren't you glad you did? Welcome to Honduras...I'm sorry but I didn't catch your name before. I'm Ben and this is my girlfriend Angela." As he reached his hand out to shake theirs, he continued laughing.

Bella and Jasper took turns shaking their hands and introducing themselves to their bus mates.

"You are in for an interesting cultural experience, but it will be a wonderful one. I still remember the first time I came here. I was in shock at almost every turn, but now I'm past the shock part and have fallen in love with this entire country. Can you believe one year I actually took the public bus and ended up with a chicken in my lap as well?" Ben exclaimed while shaking his head in disbelief.

Bella just stared at him in shock while Jasper jumped in saying, "Wow, Bella thought we were traveling in style on this bus. It's nice to have people who can help the newbies adjust to the cultural changes here, I am sure we are going to experience plenty of them."

By this time Bella had recovered from culture shock and stated, "It's going to take me a while to adjust because I am completely out of my element here. But I'm looking forward to learning more about this new and different culture. Sign me up for all of it, except for the 'love' experience. I want my name crossed off _that_ list. I'm pretty sure I won't be finding love of any sort here."

Ben quickly replied, "You never know Bella, I found two kinds of love here. Love for the culture and the love of my life." His face shining with pride as he wrapped his arm around Angela's shoulder and lovingly beamed at her.

Unsure how to respond to that, Bella just nodded and turned her head, staring back out the window. They all lapsed into a comfortable silence as they traveled down the country roads.

As the bus continued to bounce along, Bella and Jasper began to discuss about her plans to move closer to Charlie. She wasn't feeling nervous, which surprised Jasper as much as herself. It didn't take long for them to realize that her absence of anxiety must mean she was making the right decision. Bella loved both her parents dearly but both she and Jasper had to admit that much of her anxiety was a direct result of Renee's flightiness and general lack of responsibility. As the back of the bus bounced along roughly, Bella found herself leaning more and more into Jasper's side, despite the general roughness of the terrain, she was able to fall into a peaceful sleep.

It wasn't long before Bella was being jostled awake by a pillow that was not staying still like it was supposed to.

"Jasper, stop moving. I'm trying to sleep and I was comfortable," Bella grumbled.

"Well, if you had been paying attention to this brand new country that we have never before visited instead of sleeping your way through the travel, you would realize that we are stopping for a restroom and snack break." Jasper's word cut through the fog in Bella's head as she registered the important words, 'restroom' and 'snack'.

"Fine, fine, I'll get up." Bella rubbed her eyes trying to orient herself to her surroundings.

As Bella looked out the window she saw a number of little children surrounding the bus who appeared to be trying to sell food and drinks. Just as her thoughts were wandering about what the circumstances must have been that led to these children needing to be out on the streets selling these things, she was interrupted by Alberto.

"I know it can be hard not to give these kids money, but if you give to one, you will have to give to them all. Just tell them no thank you, and make your way up to the cantina. The restrooms are around the back, and most importantly remember, do not flush the toilet paper," Alberto chuckled as he turned around and exited the bus.

As everyone began to disembark, Bella noticed that the bus carrying Alice and her family had pulled up alongside them. She had also realized quickly that she really needed to use the restroom, so she decided she would hurry and do that, then try to say hi to Alice before they all got back on their busses.

As they stepped off the bus, Jasper informed her that he would meet her back around by the snack stand when they were done.

Bella was surprised that the bathrooms were as nice as they were. As she went to the restroom, she kept chanting to herself silently 'Do not put the toilet paper in the toilet. Put it in the trash can'.

Trying not to think about how weird, and well, how kind of gross that was, she successfully placed the toilet paper in the trash can. She washed her hands, and made her way out of the restroom to look for either Jasper or Alice.

As she turned the corner she looked around quickly spotting them both standing together off to the side and started to make her way over to them.

"Hey, there you guys are..." her voice quickly trailed off as she felt like she had just entered the Twilight Zone.

The site before her was something she never expected to see, but she had no doubt what was going on. It was as if the moment Alice and Jasper had seen each other they froze in their own personal bubble. The world and the people in it continued to rotate around them, but they were unaware that such a pivotal, life-changing moment had just occurred.

Alice and Jasper, for their part, were completely lost in the moment. They had forgotten where they were as they became lost in one another's eyes. They were broken from their trance as they heard someone call their names. They slowly turned to the voice that had interrupted this monumental moment.

Bella slowly looked from her old friend to her new friend as they appeared to be recognizing the world around them. Alice and Jasper suddenly began to shuffle, looking a little uncomfortable as they realized the display they had just put on for all those around them to witness.

"So, I see you two have met," Bella accursedly announced as she took the final step to stand next to them. She eyed Jasper curiously, never having seen him looking so intense.

Jasper appeared unsure how to respond as his brain was working in slow motion. He was so caught up in the previous moment, unable to truly explain what had just happened. The only part he was sure of was that the moment itself was significant.

Alice recovered first, "Well, not officially, but I'm assuming this is...Jasper, did you say?"

"Yes, Alice. This is my very best friend Jasper. Jazz, this is Alice Cullen. The one I have been talking to online for the past year." Bella nodded toward each of them.

Jasper slowly reached out to take Alice's hand in his own. He looked directly into her eyes as he stated, "It is so nice to meet you ma'am."

Alice blushed and actually had to turn her head away slightly as she was overwhelmed by the emotion she could see flooding his eyes. She only managed to shyly reply, "I'm Alice."

Bella could not believe her eyes as she watched what was occurring. What happened to the hyper, over-enthusiastic girl she had met on the plane? She had never imagined she would see a quiet, subdued Alice. Leave it to Jasper to be the one person who could balance out Alice's energy with his calm.

It appeared Alice and Jasper had been sucked back into their private bubble. Bella briefly wondered what this was going to mean for her 'moving forward' trip. She could almost see her close companionship with Jasper slipping away before her eyes, and the thought scared her so badly that she quickly brushed it aside before panic set in. .

"Jasper, if you are going to get anything to drink before we get back on the bus, we need to do it now. Otherwise they are going to leave us stuck at this banana stand all alone. And between you and me, that is not something I need right now." Bella's voice trailed off as she looked at the chaos around her.

As Jasper came to, he shook his head, as though that would somehow help him clear the fog from it.

"Well, Alice, it was very nice to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you better," he stated as he smiled softly at her.

Alice nodded gently as she looked at him through her eyelashes. Still at a loss for words she quietly turned and walked back towards her bus, having said nothing at all to Bella.

After Jasper officially recovered from his trance, he turned to Bella and smiled. He casually threw his arm around her and said, "Let's grab a drink and blow this popsicle stand."

When they pulled up to the rest-stop, Edward was more than ready to get off of the bus to clear his mind for a few minutes. It had been an awkward couple of hours, he felt as if he did not belong there. He had been sitting next to Alice the entire bus ride and she was still ignoring him. All around him he could hear the happy people talking and commiserating, apparently many people already knew one another. The rest of his family sat towards the front of the bus, but he decided that was probably for the best that he gave a bit of distance between them, as he didn't want to put a damper on their good moods. He knew he needed to find a way to dig himself out of this funk, but up to this point had currently been failing miserably.

Edward made quick work of using the restroom and grabbing a drink. Talking to no one, he immediately hopped back on the bus to gain a few moments of serenity before everyone else got back on.

As he took a swig of his Coke, he slumped against the dusty window. Looking out into the sea of people, his eye naturally went to looking for his family, in particular Alice, who tended to befriend strangers and get lost in crowds. As he observed everyone standing around between the two buses, he was a bit taken aback by what he saw.

He noticed two individuals staring intently at one another. To him, it looked as if they were looking into and reading one another's souls. It was only after realizing that the people weren't moving an inch that he looked closer. One of the two people involved was not the person he ever expected to see.

Alice and ...was it Jasper? They were staring at one another. No, he corrected himself; they were staring at one another _intently_. It was as if the world had stopped explicitly for them, just to enjoy this moment in time. He felt like he should look away, but he just couldn't. He had never seen his sister be quiet for this long, unless she was angry, like she currently was at him. The two of them together looked absolutely ridiculous. He was as tall as she was short and she was as raven haired as he was blonde.

Edward was not sure what was going to happen next between the two, but decided something needed to happen to break the trance they appeared to be stuck in. He was about to get up and do it himself when someone else beat him to it. As if that someone had read his mind at that very moment, a girl, no a woman, walked up to the entranced couple. Edward took in her appearance as she approached, looking awkward and shuffling her feet breaking them out of their bubble.

He found himself wishing he were able to hear what was being said. For one, he could not believe that it appeared Alice was at a loss for words, staring all doe-eyed at the blonde-haired boy. Alice never sat still for anyone, except their mother Esme, and occasionally their father could get her to quiet down but it was never long before she was up and bouncing around them all again.

Suddenly, he felt his over-protective big brother part of him begin to take over. Wanting to intervene, knowing that something pivotal was taking place he tried to convince himself that he was just watching out for his sister. To any other by-stander it would look like a group of three people having a conversation among themselves. But he had seen Alice and Jasper before the other girl walked up to them and had felt compelled to go out there now and confront the three of them together.

He managed to restrain himself as he continued to watch the interaction. He actually felt a little bad for Bella. She looked like a third wheel standing there being ignored by the other two. Nice, Edward thought, as he remembered that Alice had told him that Jasper was Bella's closest friend. He thought about it for a moment longer and concluded that if that was the way this Jasper treated his friends, and more importantly, how he treated women, he truly did not want him associating with Alice.

Before Edward could react and actually do something, the encounter was over. Alice wandered her way back to her seat next to Edward. He could tell she was still in a trance as she lightly sat down with an easy smile on her face. She put her headphones back on and with her eyes closed she leaned her head back against the seat without saying a word of acknowledgment.

Still in shock at Alice's silence, he muttered to himself, "Well, maybe miracles do happen in Honduras." He looked back out the window trying to find the other two but didn't. He tried to look for just Jasper, who was so tall and blonde that he would be sure to stick out in the crowd, whereas the plain little mouse he was with seemed to blend into the background everywhere she went. When he didn't spot either of them in the crowd he could only assume that they were already on the other bus. He made a mental note to find out what exactly Jasper had said to Alice to get her to keep quiet.

A few hours after they left the rest stop Alberto announced that they had entered the area surrounding Catcamas and would be arriving at the camp shortly. As Bella looked out the window it appeared to her that they were passing by villages just on the outside of the city. The roads were even bumpier than they had been travelling towards Catacamas, and she found it difficult to keep herself still. She felt like a pogo stick bouncing up and down and unable to control her body movement.

If she thought the apartment she lived in during college was small, it was nothing compared to the housing they passed as they headed into the city. Each little shack seemed smaller than the next, appearing very worn and tattered.

Soon they hit the city limits turning onto a rare paved road. They passed one light in town that appeared to represent what would have been a "yellow" light in the states as everyone slowed as they approached it but continued to move on without stopping.

As they turned onto a small road, Alberto stated that everyone should place their stuff down on a bunk bed, then meet in the kitchen area for brief orientation over dinner before winding down for the night.

The bus came to a stop; Bella looked out, wondering where the camp was supposed to be. As she looked out to her left, there were a number of men sitting outside of what appeared to be a junkyard, staring up at the bus with amused smiles on their faces. There were a number of malnourished looking dogs roaming around and rummaging along the sides of the road, she assumed looking for food. _Who do those dogs belong to,_ she thought to herself.

She looked up ahead outside the right side of the bus and saw a small sign outside of a fenced area that read "Catacamas missions camp". She assumed that must have been the all encompassing name they chose, since a number of volunteer groups stayed together at the same camp.

Alberto got off the bus to unlock the gate as people shot up excitedly and started filing off the bus. As they made their way into camp Bella noticed there were a number of parked trucks, a number of doors along the left side of the space and a little house up ahead the right. She and Jasper had no idea where they were going, but decided to follow the masses.

They walked along the sidewalk to the left and soon the girls began to file into a room. Bella looked at Jasper, reluctant to part ways in such an unfamiliar setting, but he just gave her a small smile and nudge, stating "I will see you in the kitchen soon. I'm starving!", before turning and following the rest of the men and boys to their room.

Bella peered into the large common room, where they were a number of bunk beds aligned against walls on the side. Since it appeared there were no restrooms in the room, she decided to take one of the beds closest to the door in case she needed to make a quick exit during the middle of the night.

Without waiting around to see who her bunkmates would be, since she had no luggage to unpack, she decided to follow a group of girls who stated they were heading to the kitchen, which was evidently attached to their room. She walked through the door sitting down in the first seat she found, nervously taking in her surroundings.

People quickly began to file into the plastic chairs placed at the old wooden tables in the dining area, and began socializing as if they had all had been long-time friends. Bella quickly began to feel out of place until a familiar face grabbed her by the hand and said "Pizza for dinner! Yes!" Alberto and another man walked in carrying a number of pizzas, which they plopped down on the table just in time for everyone to dive in and begin eating.

As soon as people started to appear settled with mouths full of food, Alberto took the time to orient everyone to the layout of the camp. Bella was half listening as she looked around the room, examining the people with whom she would be spending the next month with. So many of the people she looked at appeared comfortable, as if this were their home. Bella wondered if she would ever begin to feel even a fraction of the comfort in this country as these people appeared to feel.

Alberto continued talking about plans for the breakfast and lunch meals, evidently they would be having lots of peanut butter and jelly, as Bella spotted Alice and her family seated at a table in the opposite corner. She recognized everyone whose faces she had seen, and almost found herself breathless as she matched the face with the man whose back had been facing her at the airport earlier. She would recognize that hair anywhere. He was beautiful. There was simply no other way to describe him. As if he knew someone were looking his way, he turned his face in her direction, Bella quickly looked down, hoping he hadn't realized she had been staring at him.

Bella tried her best to continue to appear composed as Alberto explained that they would all find their group work assignments in the kitchen in the morning, but that they were free for the rest of the evening to hang out or get ready for bed, as they would be leaving around 7:30 in the morning for their work sites, which, according the mumblings occurring around her, was a "late" start.

As everyone began to disperse, Jasper turned to Bella, saying "Put on your hard hat, looks like we are in for a wild ride. This is going to be so much fun!"

Bella stood against the wall of the little bathroom building, waiting for Jasper to arrive with what was going to be her pajamas and clothes for the night. She crossed her arms in front of her staring at the beautiful garden that separated the bathroom building from the sleeping quarters. She stared in wonder at the bright colors splashed carelessly against the deep greens. There was a small trail made of little stones and although the area was small, she felt compelled to walk down into it. She crossed over the concrete walkway stepping down the four small steps leading into the garden area. The minute her foot hit the stones on the walkway she felt like she had stepped back into time. She felt childlike and carefree. The stress of day to day life melting away from her had her feeling almost giddy as she walked from plant to plant, inspecting each carefully. She made a mental note to ask their host about the various kinds of flowers and plants. She walked over to one particularly bright orange flower and studied it carefully. She touched it lightly as she realized that it looked similar to a feather duster and she immediately thought of a little fairy flitting about the small garden, dusting pollen from each separate flower and spreading it among others. She closed her eyes smiling as she took in a breath of the unpolluted air. She could just picture a little fairy world, filled with all sorts of magical creatures keeping up the garden. She must have giggled to herself because the next sound she heard was Jasper's voice directly behind her. Not having heard him approach, she jumped when she heard his voice.

"Did the flower tell you a good joke or something?" he asked as he closed the last space between them.

"Very funny Jazz. I just was daydreaming. Isn't this beautiful?" Bella gestured her hand all around her.

"It is. And you make it more beautiful Bella, never doubt that." Jasper reached an arm around her and gave his friend a squeeze.

"I can't believe I have to ask for your clothes Jazz. Do you want me to wash anything? I am going to need to wash my underclothes for tomorrow so, if you need anything let me know. One of the girls said that the washboard area is right over there." Bella made a careless gesture with her hand.

"No, I'm good." Jasper walked over and sat down on the top concrete step and patted the step below him. Bella gratefully walked over and sat down between his long legs and leaned back into him, the stress leaving her body as he crushed her body between his legs in a playful manner. "I checked with Alberto and he said there were no signs of your luggage Bells. You can always borrow whatever you need to from me until we can get to a store though okay?"

"Thanks Jazz. This sucks but I can deal. The best I can hope for is that they end up on someone who really needs them. Although with the way I packed, I feel sorry for the person who thinks they took a suitcase full of nice clothes." Bella laughed and Jasper gave her a quick shove with his hand.

"Poor people dress better than you sometimes Bella. Honestly, they'll probably find it and come looking for you to donate clothes to you." The two of them started laughing unaware that Alice had creeped up behind them.

"Can I join you two?" She asked in a shy voice, which caught Bella completely off guard. She looked surprised, not realizing that Alice might have a quiet side after all.

"Sure Kiddo, cop a squat." Jasper said as he patted the concrete beside him as Bella turned her head and rested her chin on his knee. She looked up at Alice.

"So, your whole family is here then?" Bella asked, tying to strike up a comfortable conversation.

"Yeah, we all came. My dad, Carlisle, and my brother, Edward, are both doctors. My oldest brother is the one who keeps following around a pregnant woman, that's his wife Rosalie. He treats her like she made of glass sometimes so just ignore him. And then there's my mom, Esme. You'll like them, I swear! They aren't like snobby or anything like that I promise." Alice seemed nervous as she defended her family.

"Of course not. We never thought that for a second did we Bells?" Jasper nudged Bella with his knee to prompt her answer.

Bella stumbled over her words but recovered quickly. "Of course not. So, Alice, what part of Washington are you from? My dad lives out there and we're going to spend some time with him after this trip is over." Bella leaned over and relaxed more into Jasper's leg embrace.

"Oh, um, it's a really small town near the coast. You've probably never heard of it…Forks?" Alice said and glanced up at Bella's gasp of surprise.

"Forks? Washington Forks?" Bella straightened up and her mouth dropped open at the mention of the tiny town her father briefly lived in before he moved to Sequim to be closer to the county seat of Port Angeles.

"You've heard of it?" Alice couldn't keep the excitement from creeping into her voice and Bella backed down.

"Oh yeah," Bella said as she shrank back down from Alice's high-pitched voice. "My dad used to live there before he moved to Sequim. I've been there a few times but not since I was little. He moved from there to Sequim to be closer to his job." Bella left out exactly what Charlie did, knowing that nothing could possibly match up to Alice Cullen's dad being a doctor.

"That's great news though! You'll be so close by! I wonder if my dad knew him? What's his name Bella?" Alice shifted and leaned so close that Bella backed up against Jasper's opposite leg to give herself more personal space.

"Oh, um, It's Charlie…I doubt he'd know him, he's been gone from Forks for years now." Bella fiddled with an edge of the clothing pile Jasper gave her and realized that she was losing daylight and should be getting on with her task, namely having to wash out her current clothing in order to have fresh clothes for tomorrow. "I should really go wash out my clothes. You guys hanging out here for awhile?"

"Um, yeah, sure I'm all unpacked so I'm good…Alice?" Jasper looked down at the slip of a woman sitting next to him.

"Sure, I can stick around, I am all unpacked as well." She smiled up at Jasper, the white of her teeth sharply contrasting the black of her hair.

"Niiiice, everyone gets to unpack except me." The snide comment came from Bella's mouth before she could help it and Jasper's arm instinctively went around Bella's shoulder.

"Why didn't you unpack? Do you want some help?" Alice offered.

"Bella has nothing to unpack Alice, the airport lost her luggage." Jasper's arm shifted but his hand remained on Bella's back, rubbing gentle, calming circles on it.

Bella took a breath and sighed. She smiled gratefully at Jasper and then looked over at Alice as the girl started talking. "You know Bella, I've got some clothes that might…" Alice let her voice trail off as the three of them stood and she now realized that there was no way Bella would possibly fit into Alice's tiny clothing.

"Thanks Alice, but spending our time here, stuffed into your clothing? I'd probably look like a sausage link!" The three of them laughed as they stood and altogether made their way to the bathroom for Bella to change.

She left them outside as she went into the tiny building that housed the three bathroom stalls and three shower stalls. The men's side was separated from the women's by a wall that had screening at the top so ventilation and noises were clear from one side to the other. She heard someone in the men's side brushing their teeth and gargling and she snickered at how unfair it was that the ladies had to listen to the men and all their gross bodily noises that rather than hide, they seemed openly proud of sharing. As she stripped off her clothing she sent up a note of grateful thanks that it was gargling she heard from the men's side and not something far worse.

Exiting the bathroom a few minutes later, Bella saw that there were now three people waiting for her. She cautiously approached the well made up woman who was talking animatedly with Alice and Jasper. Even in casual clothing, the woman looked graceful and elegant. Bella, standing in Jasper's old sweatpants and t-shirt felt gross. She balled up her clothing and held it in front of herself to hide Jasper's old Metallica t-shirt from a concert he had gone to years ago. The three of them turned as she came up to them.

"Hi?" Bella asked shyly, now recognizing Alice's mom from being one of the beautiful people.

"Bella! This is my mom!" Alice's exuberance made Bella jump slightly dropping the pile of clothing she was holding. Her cheeks flamed as she noticed Alice's mother bend down to pick them up before any of the others could.

"Alice, really! Stop scaring people like that. You made her drop the rags she was carrying." Esme had the clothing in her hands before she straightened back up. As she handed them back to Bella she smiled. "Oh, you like Metallica as well? My oldest son Emmett is a big fan of them, I think he even has that shirt too. It's a little loud for my taste, but boys will be boys. I didn't think they had many girls for fans." Esme smiled warmly having no idea just how hurtful her words were to Bella until she noticed the tears fall at the corners of her eyes.

Jasper moved toward Bella who was trying her best to keep her composure but failing as she stood with her arms crossed over herself protectively and defensively. She licked her lips before she began to speak.

"How do you do Mrs. Cullen, it's nice to meet you." Bella said with as much dignity as she could. "These clothes aren't mine, they're Jasper's. Those clothes however are mine." Bella pointed briefly at the small pile of clothing that Esme was still holding and had referred to as 'rags'. Tears of humiliation and shame filled Bella's eyes as she reached for the clothes.

"Oh dear! I apologize Bella, with the sunlight fading, I didn't see them properly, of course I can tell that now." Esme handed them back gently. "Please just call me Esme dear." The woman's face showed genuine concern and Bella immediately felt worse knowing that she was the one that put the furrow in Esme's brow causing her beautiful face to look less than perfect.

"It's okay." Bella reached over for her clothing taking them from the woman. She did her best to drape them over her arm hiding her bra and panties by putting her clothes on top of them.

"Esme, the airport lost Bella's luggage so she is stuck wearing my clothes until they're found." Jasper casually patted Bella's shoulder.

"Oh dear, how awful!" Esme's voice was full of genuine sympathy as she looked up and down Bella's outfit. "I don't think we are the same size, but I could ask Rosalie if she has anything…" Esme tried to be helpful but turned her head when she heard a slap.

Alice was standing with her hand against her forehead dramatically. "Mom, Rose is pregnant! Bella's not that fat!" Alice's hand flew from her forehead to her mouth as she realized her own faux pas. "Bella I'm so sorry, I never meant that!" Alice's words were lost on Bella's ears as Esme broke into the conversation again.

"I never said that she was fat Alice, I was just thinking that something more feminine would be better, no matter how much bigger it would be." Esme crossed her own arms in front of her as silence finally hung in the air between the four of them.

"I better go wash these out so I can look more presentable tomorrow." Bella held up her arm that had her clothing draped across it turning to go to the laundry room that she was shown on the brief tour earlier.

"Bella wait, I want you to meet my father and brother Edward." Bella heard Alice's voice trail off as she made her way across the concrete to the small laundry area but kept walking, the tears falling freely as she remembered all the insults, however unintentional. Clearly, Alice's family did not live in the same realm as she was, and her desire to be used as an object to hurl insults at was zero, no matter how unintentional those insults were.

While she hovered over the washboard, she let her tears mix in with her sweat. She hated feeling this way and mentally calculated the days until she could leave. Realizing that this was still her first day, and that she still had a duty to fulfill, she scrubbed harder, as if scrubbing the day away from her clothing she could also scrub it away from her mind.

Edward watched the odd interaction from the hammock he was sitting in on the porch. Alice, Jasper, his mother, and that Bella girl were talking on the path between the "dorm" rooms and the bathrooms. He was upset that Alice seemed to be so dazzled by this Jasper kid as she looked at him like he was the sunshine after a hurricane, or something like that, when it was obvious that he had a thing going on with that...girl, he was travelling with. I mean, she was wearing his clothes right now for goodness sakes! Marking her territory much, he thought to himself.

He was thinking to himself about how he was going to have to have a real talk with Alice about being careful, which he knew he would have to approach carefully, seeing as she was already mad at him, when all of a sudden the Bella girl looked like she was about to cry and hurried off, but Jasper did not follow after her. Instead, he continued talking with Alice and his mother. He decided he was going to have to get to the bottom of this, as he picked himself up off the hammock and made his way towards the group of people standing in front of him.

"Jasper, I am so sorry, I didn't mean any of that, it all came out so wrong." Alice face showed how upset she was as she shook her head to emphasize her point as they watched Bella's retreating back.

"It's okay Alice, Bella is just a very quiet person. What we would normally take as a not big deal, a simple slip of the tongue, she takes it straight to her heart." Jasper jammed his hands in his pockets leaning against the wall of the white building.

"Why is she like that dear? I don't understand?" Esme's face first showed concern and then turned into happiness as she saw her younger son emerge from the building. As she waved for him to join the small group, she again made eye contact with Jasper to wait for his response.

"Bella's just lost. She's just like the rest of us, trying to find our way in the world. Where we fit in and what our next step is. I am sure you've felt that way at some point as well Alice." Jasper smiled down at Alice as she nodded her head in agreement.

Alice glanced at her brother as he joined them.

"Jasper Hale, I'd like you to meet my brother, Dr. Edward Cullen. Edward, this is my friend Jasper." Alice smiled at Jasper as he straightened up and pushed himself away from the wall holding out his hand to her brother.

"Nice to meet you." Jasper said with a short nod of his head as Edward returned his greeting.

"So, you're one of Alice's new friends?" Edward said with a smirk as he looked around. It was Jasper who spoke up before Alice could even open her mouth.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Jasper stated, as she smiled down at Alice.

"Well, I will be seeing you around. Guess I should be getting ready for a long day tomorrow. It was nice to meet you...Jasper," Edward stated as he turned and walked away, but Jasper could read him, and could tell he didn't mean it. He decided then and there that he would have to look out for Edward Cullen.


	4. Chapter 4

Bella was dreaming. She had to be. Somewhere in the back of her mind she could feel someone staring at her, watching her from a distance. She breathed in deeply and tried to roll onto one side but was stopped by the tug of her thin blanket. That's when the vibrations started, tiny shakes and tremors that coursed through the thin mattress and shook Bella through to her bones. She vaguely remembered she was in a foreign country and, through her haze, she tried to remember how many earthquakes Honduras had survived. Still mostly asleep, she moved to see what the blanket was caught on, and gave a startled yelp as she noticed Alice on the small bed with her, actually staring her in the face.

"Alice, why are we in bed together?" Bella's exhausted tone phrased the question that came out as more of a statement to which she really didn't expect an answer as she rubbed her hands on her face trying to wake herself up fully, and grimacing when she felt a layer of grime on her face. She was sorely in need of a shower. Running her fingers through her tangled hair, she knew it was in no better shape and that she had to visit a bathroom to clean up before she confronted anyone else.

"Good morning to you too Bella! Hey, did you know you talk in your sleep?" Alice rose to her knees and kneeled on the bed next to Bella but didn't make any attempt to get off of it.

Bella groaned and she replied, "Yeah, Jasper's mentioned it to me before." Bella pulled hard on the blanket, throwing Alice off balance as she rolled onto her stomach and bunched her pathetically thin pillow under her head.

"Oh, I didn't realize that you two…" Alice started but was cut off by Bella's own muffled admission.

"Jasper and I are best friends Alice, nothing more. We dated years ago but are better for each other as friends than we ever were as a couple. Just leave it at that." She gave a yawn as she realized that no more sleep would be coming for her and she rolled to her side to face Alice, daring her to continue her path of questioning.

Alice ignored Bella's almost comical glare that came off like more of a grimace because she was still half asleep, and smiled as she tugged the blanket, trying to get it away from her. "Come on Bella, we have to get you ready for today and I refuse to let you walk around with me wearing Jasper's clothes and looking like a high school dropout. We have to fix them," she stated while handing Bella a small pile of clothing.

"Jazz was here already?" Bella's eyes lit up at the thought of seeing her friend after a lonely night in a strange country, with crazy people getting into bed with her during the middle of the night. She sat up a little straighter at the thought of seeing something familiar.

"He came by earlier and just wanted to give you these clothes. I took them from him. You know, he didn't seem surprised to find out that you were still dead to the world. He sorta laughed about it." Alice's eyes became dreamy as she continued on, "He has the cutest laugh."

Bella narrowed her eyes and snatched the clothing from her. "Yeah, right, he obviously wasn't laughing AT you or you wouldn't be saying it like that. Believe me, when Jasper gets started laughing it's pretty infectious." Bella held up the shirt to inspect it and sighed, "So, I'm going to be a Led Zeppelin fan today I guess. Well, anything is better than just wearing my bra." Bella held up Jasper's old 'Stairway To Heaven' t-shirt toward Alice and shrugged as they giggled. She reached over for her bra that she had left draped over a chair, hoping it would dry throughout the night.

"Come on Bella, you still haven't met my sister Rose. She's married to Emmett, my oldest brother, you haven't met him either, but I am sure you've seen him around. He stands taller than everyone else and is all brawn no brain. He's the muscle in my family. Anyway, Rose has a great sense of style, she'll be able to help figure out something to do with Jasper's clothes until yours are found." Alice pulled Bella off the bed and propelled her toward a small group of women that were assembling at a small table.

"Rose!" Alice shoved her way through the women as she now dragged Bella along by her arm. Bella shrank back as she saw the beautiful blonde woman say a polite 'excuse me a moment' to the crowd before turning to them.

"Alice, really, calm down." Rose sighed as she wiped her sweaty forehead with the palm of her hand. "I was just about to come and find you to walk down to breakfa…" Rose's voice caught herself as she took in the sight of Bella's clothing and then looked her up and down, head to toe.

Bella blushed and found herself unable to speak as her jaw dropped open and then clamped shut. She crossed her arms in front of her body defensively and clutched the clothes to herself. 'Another family member, another insult,' Bella thought to herself before deciding that she wasn't going to give this woman the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Instead she raised her chin up higher and stood more proud. As if on cue, Alice started to defend Bella but Rose cut her off before she could.

"What a great idea! I would have never thought to pack my husband's old clothes for this trip. I just packed my own. Alice, you should have told me! That would have been a great way to narrow down Emmett's old t-shirt collection, what a great idea by the way." Rose smiled at her, though it almost seemed like a sneer as she made a jab about Bella's personal appearance.

"Um, Rose, this is my friend Bella Swan. She's borrowing some clothes from a friend of hers because her luggage was lost at the airport so she only has one pair of clothes…" Alice looked helplessly at Bella realize that yet another family member of hers had just insulted her. "Sorry Bella." She said in a small, sad voice.

"It's alright Alice." Bella swallowed and tried to be the better person. "It's nice to meet you Rose. I'm afraid my clothes leave a bit to be desired right now, through no fault of my own. My friend Jasper is lending me some of his clothes until mine are found."

"I'm sorry Bella is it?" At Bella's nod she continued. "Well, that's alright. I am sure we can come up with something more suitable for you than this." Rose took the shirt and shorts from her and held them up as if they were infectious. "Geez, it's like Emmett's dresser all over again." Alice and Rose laughed as Bella stood by looking confused. "My husband, never mind, you'll see soon enough." Rose excused herself from the group and offered for the three of them to switch the morning breakfast to the afternoon lunch making. After that, she dragged Bella and Alice to the women's bathroom, stopping only briefly at her own bed to get her purse.

After what seemed like forever to Bella, she had to admit that she felt better. She couldn't fault them for their work, they did the best they could with what they had to work with. For what it was worth, she now had on her own underwear and bra, topped off by Jaspers basketball shorts and t-shirt which Rose had expertly knotted off in the back to make it fit her better. She had settled for washing her face and let Rose braid her hair, since there was no point in cleaning up for the day only to get dirty again while they worked. Bella had to admit, as she walked into the breakfast hall, she did feel better about the day and being there.

As Alice guided them toward the table where her mom and oldest brother sat waiting, she smiled and waved. Bella watched in horror as her oldest brother stood when they approached. He didn't stop standing, he towered over Bella and had her absolutely scared as he closed the few remaining steps and reached for Rose. It was only up close that he stopped looking so formidable and Bella realized that his features were similar to those of her stuffed bear from her childhood. Last she knew she had left it at Charlie's one year, childishly believing that he would keep her father company when she herself had to go so far away and live with Renee. Bella couldn't help but smile at him as he embraced his wife lovingly. He looked over at Rose shoulder as they hugged and looked straight at her, shooting her and Alice the silliest grin, Bella couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Ali, who's your friend?" Emmett let go of Rose but continued to help her sit at the table, pulling the chair out for her and holding her hand as she sat. Bella saw the muscles in his forearm tighten and her eyes bulged as she thought of how much strength those muscles must hold in them. Once he had his full attention on his sister he waited to be introduced.

"Bella, this is my oldest brother Emmett, Em, this is my friend, Bella Swan." Alice looked nervously at Bella and then back at her brother. "Be nice Emmett!"

Emmett looked taken back as he stared at Alice. "I'm always nice. So, you're the one she met online?" Emmett sounded surprised.

"Hi, I'm Bella." Bella stuck out her hand, wondering idly how many pieces she would get it back in after shaking Emmett's hand.

"Well, I must say, you have good taste in music. Hey, any girlfriend of Alice's is a friend of mine." Emmett said shaking her hand.

"Emmett, she's my friend, not my girlfriend. Does Bella look like she swings the other way to you?" Alice pouted as she put her hands on her hips and faced Bella. "I experimented _one_ time, kissed _one_ woman in college, on a dare, and suddenly he thinks I'm trying to find myself a lady friend every time I'm friendly with a woman at all. Sorry Bella. Please come sit with us."

"And it's just concidence that you were found in her bed this morning?," Emmett poked in jest as her tensed up to ready himself as Alice smacked him upside the head, huffed, then turned her back to her brother and sat down more forcefully than necessary.

Emmett just chuckled, murmuring to himself about the joys of getting his little sister riled up so easily.

Bella smiled as she looked over at the table and saw that there were a few empty chairs and sat down, making sure she faced the door so she could watch for Jasper. She turned to address Emmett who was clearly offended about the talking to from his mother and wife.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but actually Emmett, the shirt belongs to a friend of mine. You probably ran into him in the men's dorm. Jasper Hale? Tall blond with a shaggy haircut?" Bella reached over and took a small box of cereal from the basket Rose held out. She carefully opened the box according to the instructions and reached for a carton of milk to add to it. As she poured she looked over to the space in front of Emmett and laughed. Stacked in front of him were a half dozen empty cereal boxes of all different kind. Bella couldn't help but laugh at the pyramid he had built, using the boxes like building blocks. He quickly made a reach for Esme's and after sealing it up so the cardboard would absorb the milk, he stacked it with his own.

"Oh yeah, he seems really cool. He's from the south?" Emmett laughed as Bella nodded and replied 'Texas' and continued. "Yeah, he's the one that got Edward all riled up and then called him a yank. Anyone that can get Edward going is a friend of mine." At his easygoing nature, Bella had to laugh. "So, Bells," Emmett began as he leaned back in his chair and put his arm around Rose's shoulder. "You with this Jasper guy or did you enjoy snuggling up with my little sis on tiny cots in foreign countries?" Bella started laughing so hard she choked on her cereal, causing someone to start whacking her back.

"Mind yourself you oaf." Jasper started laughing as he took the empty chair next to Bella. "He bent over and kissed her politely on her cheek and then winked over at Alice. "He saw me walkin up behind you Bella, that's why he asked. And I'm sure Bella LOVED snuggling up with Tink, though she would never admit it," he chuckled while Bella gave him the stink eye. Bella watched as Jasper suavely introduced himself to Alice's mom and sister in law, wishing that she was that comfortable in her own skin.

As they ate their breakfast, Jasper kept everyone entertained. He recanted his conversation with Edward in which they had both taken up different sides of the Civil War, which was what led Jasper to call him a Yank. The whole story was made funnier by Emmett's digs and one liners into how it 'really went down'.

After a time, Alice asked where her father and Edward were and it was Esme that explained to the group hat they had already eaten because they had an earlier meeting with the doctors without borders group and a tour of the clinic there.

"Sorry Bella, looks like you'll have to wait until later to be insulted by the rest of my family," Alice said with a smirk as they filed out of the dining hall to find out their work assignments for the day.


	5. Chapter 5

Bella wandered outside along with Jasper and the rest of the Cullen clan over to a group of people surrounding papers posted on the outside wall, indicating who would be in each group for the different work assignments. Bella stood back a bit, slightly reluctant to squeeze herself into the mold of the many sweaty bodies surrounding the paper, while Jasper swiftly moved ahead to check out their assignments.

Once he reached the assignments he turned to face Bella and Alice, his face lighting up with a sparkle reaching his eyes that even Bella rarely saw, and it appeared to Bella that Jasper was actually looking more to Alice than he was herself, but Bella decided to swiftly push that train of thought aside. Jasper had always been friendly with everyone, easily getting along with anyone he met. They had come here to volunteer, to try something new, and clear their heads from all the post-graduation clutter that had plagued their minds. Jasper was her best friend and would never abandon her for a summertime fling, even though Alice was beautiful, kind, funny, exuberant, and just well...perfect, it seemed, despite the minor incident that had occurred upon their first face-to-face meeting. Bella knew Alice's character from all of their on-line contact and was convinced that Alice was a beautiful soul, even if she could use a serious chill pill every now and again.

Jasper suddenly interrupted her inner monologue as he announced that he, Bella, and the Cullen clan would all be at the same work site together. Alice began jumping up and down clapping her hands, eyes wide and all smiles, like a kid in a candy store, as she quickly hugged Bella, who in turn awkwardly patted her on the back in return, not expecting such excitement over this announcement. Alice finally released Bella, automatically reaching out so to hug Jasper, but quickly jerked her arms back at the last second, looking around embarrassed. She realized that she had almost attacked a man she barely knew, no matter how easy it was to be in his presence. Jasper immediately soothed her embarrassment by stating that he was happy they would be working together as well.

Once they had all finished putting sunscreen on and Esme had gathered their lunch for the day, it was time to load up and head to the work sites. Jasper announced that the paper said they would be loading up in the red truck. Turning toward the truck and eyeing it, Bella was completely baffled, hesitatingly stating "Umm...exactly how are all of us supposed to travel in this truck? There is only enough room for three people to sit inside besides the driver". Her question was quickly answered as Alberto walked up to her and simply stated "You climb in the back of course".

Bella looked at Alberto, then at everyone in her group wondering if they all thought this was a joke as she had. The back of the truck was full of tools, a wheelbarrow, shovels, a huge trash can, long boards tied across the top rack, along with other types of equipment they will be using during their work.

Surprisingly, Esme was the first to respond, as she smiled saying "Well, let's rock and roll!" quickly jumping up on the side of the truck, swinging her legs over the railing, and climbing in amongst the throng of tools.

Everyone else chuckled and began climbing in, one by one, standing in the back of the truck, surrounded by work equipment.

As Rosalie began to climb into the back of the truck with Emmett's help, Alberto pulled the couple aside. Knowing that Rose was pregnant, he discretely asked the couple if she preferred to ride in the cab of the truck. Bella was surprised when she heard Rose refuse, saying that she didn't want to miss out on all the fun. After assuring both her husband and Alberto that she felt fine, Rose promised to let them know if she felt the need to sit in the cab in the future.

Once they were all crammed in together like sardines, Alberto leaned his head out of the driver's side window, announcing "As you American's say, let's roll out!"

Pulling out of the camp site, it was obvious that they stuck out like sore thumbs in the country, as everyone in the vicinity turned to watch them make their way through the town. They traveled the two paved roads in the city and soon hit the gravel running. Bouncing up and down like popping popcorn, hips banging into tools, Emmett smiled like a kid in a candy store hollering "Hang on kids! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

A few minutes later they were pulling into a gas station, Alberto announcing that he would need some help with the water jugs for the work site, so Emmett jumped out of the truck, while Jasper announced that he would stay to keep an eye on the ladies.

Everyone in the area was staring at them; Bella began scanning the area as Alice jabbered away "Oh, they pump your gas for you here. I wondered why Alberto just walked inside. Oh my, look, there are guards with huge guns! Why would they be there? Do you think it's in case someone tries to steal gas? Would someone do that?" Alice continued her verbal monologue as if she hadn't even cared that no one was actually answering her questions.

Soon enough Emmett and Alberto returned with the filled water jugs, Alberto exchanged words with the men who had pumped the gas for him, and once again they were on their way to the work site.

Twenty or so minutes and a very bumpy ride later, the vehicle came to a stop. Everyone hopped out, taking a moment to get their bearing, thanks to the jelly leg syndrome they had acquired during their ride.

As Esme hopped out she stated "Well, that was FUN! I can't wait to do that again. Why in the world do we travel inside our cars in the US when we could be travelling on the outside like this? It is WAY cooler!"

Everyone started laughing and murmuring in agreement. Even Bella couldn't help but smile and laugh at her carefree spirit. She was beginning to wonder if she had maybe made some pre-judgments about this family herself.

Everyone began observing their surroundings. While it was technically winter season in Honduras, the landscape was very green and lush, despite the fact that winter in Honduras still meant mid 80's to low 90 degree weather with the sun beating down on you.

There were a number of small concrete houses in the area, all very close to one another. It was pretty quiet in the area, except for a few people in the homes around poking their heads out to stare at the American's making their presence known in the village.

In front of them was a plot of land where Bella assumed they would be building the house, and next to the house was a huge pile of...dirt.

Standing beside her, Emmett's eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas, rubbing his hands together with a smirk, saying "This is going to be AWESOME! Look at all that dirt we get to play in!"

Alberto walked around the side of the truck smiling; actually more like laughing at how ridiculous the crew looked, as if they had never seen dirt before, he knew for a fact that they had dirt in America.

Alberto went on to explain that the house they would be building was for a couple who lived in the area and have four children and they also cared for the woman's parents. They would be building a 400 square foot house that would have four small rooms, and the family would get to choose whether to put the kitchen in the house or out back.

Everyone exchanged looks of shock and surprise as they realized that there would be eight people living in a home that was smaller than a one-bedroom apartment in the United States. Bella couldn't help but think about how blessed she was to have what she did, despite the fact that she was no where near being wealthy, she had also never known what it was like to not have a roof over her head, or lack for anything she needed. Although the group barely knew each other at this point, they did know that the moment that they had all experienced together was a bond that they would carry with them throughout this journey.

The group was instructed to begin unloading all the work equipment from the back of the truck before they put a plan together for the day. The men began gathering the bulkier items, like the wheelbarrows, while Bella surveyed the truck bed, wondering if there was anything she would be able to handle. She saw a grey bag, similar to the size of a small dog food bag, and decided she should be able to handle that. The second she pulled it off the end of the truck bed, she and her full arms plummeted quickly towards the ground. Suddenly, before she actually hit the ground, a pair of strong arms caught her, laughing "Careful there squirt. That there is concrete and that stuff is heavy." The bag was then lifted from her arms and placed in a pile on the ground. Bella turned bright red, embarrassed, as she felt a calming hand gently rub her back. She would know that hand anywhere. It was amazing how Jasper could calm her with a simple touch.

The groundwork and structure for the house had already been completed, and they were informed that they would begin filling in the floors with dirt before pouring the floors with concrete.

Rosalie decided to speak the thoughts of everyone in the group, asking "So how are we supposed to get from the dirt pile way over there, pointing to the pile of dirt a good forty feet from the house, to the house over here?"

"Well, we place a wooden board on a slant from the ground to the top of the foundation, making a ramp. Then we use the shovels to fill the wheelbarrows with dirt, roll them up the board and dump them into each of the four sections of the house. A few of you will stay inside to even out the dirt in each section." Alberto stated this fact like it was the simplest and most obvious thing in the world.

Things definitely worked differently in third world countries. There were no big fancy gas powered machines to help them get the job done easily.

Alberto announced "Before we get started, let me just say that everyone needs to make sure they drink plenty of water and eat some snacks if they get hungry. I don't want to have to take anyone to hospital today."

The men stated that they would be fine filling the wheelbarrows with dirt and dumping them, while the women could even out the dirt within each section, to which Rosalie announced that she was more than capable of shoveling dirt into a wheelbarrow, leaving Alice, Bella, and Esme to remain within the house.

Bella gave Jasper a pleading look with her eyes, a little nervous to be left alone with the perfection that was Esme, and the hurricane that was Alice.

Jasper mouthed "You'll be fine" then winked at her turning to begin working with the other men.

Bella didn't have much chance to mentally prepare herself before Alice grabbed her by the elbow, shovel in hand, and began skipping towards the house, with Bella in tow.

"Bella, isn't it amazing to see how differently people live down here? Bella, aren't you excited to be a part of giving something so amazing to someone? Bella, is it just me or is it insanely hot out here? I think I'm going to turn into a roasted chicken by the end of day one."

This question/answer session, conducted mostly by Alice continued for the next few hours. Esme occasionally interjected comments, but mostly just smiled and watched relationships form around her. She found that she wanted to be careful not to accidentally offend Bella as she had the first time she met her as she appeared to be such a sweet girl, albeit quiet and shy.

Moving dirt around was hard work, Bella mused to herself. She was sweating bullets. She could not remember having worked this hard in well...she wasn't sure she had ever worked this hard. Bella had never been much of an athlete and this felt like a hard core workout. She announced to the other girls that she was going to get a drink of water, heading over to the truck.

Bella relaxed against the bed of the truck for a few minutes, watching the interactions that were going on around her. Everyone seemed to be getting along with an easy camaraderie. Jasper and Emmett appeared to be laughing and having a good time, hauling around huge piles of dirt. Even Rosalie appeared to be smiling and generally enjoying herself. Alice and Esme had fallen into easy conversation. Alberto was travelling in between groups, chatting, working, and helping out with directions for completing the task. Bella wondered if she would ever feel this at ease within this group.

Finishing up her water break she began to head back to the work site. Noticing that Emmett had stopped to talk with his wife for a minute, leaving a full wheelbarrow at the bottom of the ramp. It had looked so easy to push up the ramp when Emmett and Jasper did it, so Bella decided she would help and try to give it a go.

Bella lifted up the handles and began to push; she heard "Bella! No!" from behind her, the wheelbarrow then tipped to its side and fell over, bringing Bella down with it and landing right on top of her. As the wheelbarrow hit her leg, she felt a sharp sting. Suddenly everyone was around her, asking her if she was okay. Doing her best to compose her face she announced that she was fine as Jasper pulled the wheelbarrow off her leg. Embarrassed, she followed everyone's gaze and looked at her legs, watching in horror as she saw her blood flowing down and mixing in with the dry dirt. She took one last look around her before she passed out.

Bella felt woozy as she snuggled into Jasper's chest and hoped that the most recent wave of nausea would be her last. She took a deep breath and swallowed warm saliva down, hoping that her stomach would stop torturing her. She burped slightly, feeling Jasper laugh, his body shaking not only in movement with the truck as they bounced along, but also with the humor that he obviously found in their situation.

"Well, Bella, I do believe you will have quite a story to tell back home." Jasper reached out his arms pulling her tighter against his chest. She chanced a tired look up into his face and he answered her unspoken question. "Well sure, the rest of us can only say that our sweat went into this house. You are the only one who can claim that your blood actually did go into that house."

"Jazz, they didn't…" Bella tried to sit upright as he held her tight in the front seat of the truck. Her hand flew to her mouth in disbelief.

Alberto laughed as he drove them to the small, local hospital. Jasper joined in as their driver shrugged and replied in a strong accent, "no point in wasting perfectly good dirt."

"Wonderful." Bella groaned, reaching down to move the rag that was covering her leg., She was surprised to see it was a clean piece of gauze, only slightly brown from the dried blood on it.

"Good thing for you, that Mrs. Cullen had a kit with her. You had all your shots before you came right?" Alberto took his eyes from the road and looked over at Bella with concern in his eyes.

"Of course, they wouldn't let us sign up without proof." Bella answered indignantly.

"Relax Bella, it looks worse than it really is. It just bled a lot, I am sure it probably won't need but a few stitches. Nothing major, I promise." Jasper rocked her body slightly in an effort to calm her down. "See, we're already at the hospital. Alice's dad and brother are here so you have nothing to worry about okay? She wanted me to make sure to tell you that." Jasper waited as Alberto pulled into a spot and walked around to the other side to open their door for them. As Alberto reached for her, Bella held tighter to Jasper who just shrugged at Alberto, scooting himself out awkwardly with Bella still in his arms. Once out of the truck, Jasper hefted her up higher into his grip and Bella relaxed to let her body mold into his. "I don't know about you darlin, but I really didn't see any difference between sitting in the front of the truck and bouncing around in the back." They walked casually, almost nonchalantly toward the small building.

Once inside, Jasper managed to have Bella stand upright on just one leg while he supported most of her weight. She winced slightly as her toe came down to get her balance better and she felt her skin pull tight against the muscles. With a brief look down, she could see new traces of bright red blood seeping slowly through the slightly dirty gauze. She groaned as Jasper looked down and sighed.

"I'm such an idiot." Bella said as she closed her eyes, hitting the back of her head against the wall.

"Come on Bella, it could have happened to any one of us. There was way too much dirt in that wheelbarrow, that's what Emmett was telling Rose. With the three of us throwing shovels filled with dirt in it, it's no wonder it filled so fast. Even if Rose's were half filled, it was still too much. Tomorrow we will be much better organized and we'll know what to look out for." Jasper's arms reached out to draw her into a hug just as they heard her name called.

"Isabella Swan?" A voice said disdainfully, as if it was some kind of a disease instead of a woman's name.

"Her name is Bella." Jasper's voice returned the greeting, just as cold and informal.

"Oh, hi, Jason right?" Edward held out his hand purposely saying a wrong name.

"It's Jasper actually. Wow, you really suck at the names don't you Emmett?" Jasper reached out taking Edward's hand in his own, shaking it roughly as he repeated Alice's instructions to call Edward by the wrong name to really piss him off.

"Actually Emmett is my brother. I'm Edward." Never moving his eyes from Jasper's face, Edward's eyes squinted in anger.

"Sorry, my mistake." Jasper smirked now and looked back at Bella.

"Um, OW!" Bella said dramatically, trying to get attention for her leg.

"Right. So, what seems to be the trouble?" Edward shook off his anger as he looked over at Bella's leg, resting against the wall as she balanced against Jasper's body.

"She has a cut on her leg." Jasper said a second before Bella said, "I have a cut on my leg."

"Right, well, let me get a chair for you and we'll get you into an exam room, see what's going on with the cut on your leg." Edward turned to reach for a wheelchair and bumped right into one as Alberto came up behind him with it.

While Edward struggled to remain upright and Alberto struggled to maneuver the chair out of his way, Bella reached out for Jasper's outstretched arms and within seconds she was curled up gratefully against his chest and away from the melee.

"Where to doc?" Jasper said as he easily started to carry Bella forward down the hall.

Edward managed to get ahead of him and just as he was about to tell Jasper that hospital rules stated that the patients be pushed in a wheelchair, they reached the room. He sighed as he put his arms down at his sides, defeated.

"Just put her in here." Edward said with a shrug as he gathered supplies from a small closet off the main hallway.

Once Edward joined them again, he closed the door, giving the three of them privacy. Jasper was already peeling off the layers of gauze and as Bella winced, he laughed.

"Stop whining girl, you've been through worse." Jasper stated in his southern drawl as he continued to unwrap her leg, ignoring Edward as he stared at them. Bella shrugged and bit down hard against the pain, realizing that Jasper was right and that the pain was really not all that bad in comparison to other injuries she had sustained.

"Excuse me, can I look at my patient now?" Edward held a pair of scissor in one hand and a handful of clean gauze in the other.

"Oh, sure." Jasper winked over at Bella and she giggled, following Jasper's lead as to how far they could push Edward.

"Thank you." Edward stepped up to Bella's now naked leg and frowned, causing her a moment of panic.

"What is it?" Bella looked at her own leg, and aside from a little dirt, mixed with both dried up old blood and spots of bright red new blood, she saw nothing she hadn't seen before. Jasper stepped to her side and also looked, his brows furrowed as he tried to see what Edward saw that he might have missed.

"Could you have gotten any _more_ dirt in there?" Edward sighed as he put his supplies on the small wheeled cart next to the exam table.

"As a matter of fact…" Bella began indignantly before Jasper laid his hand on her shoulder, quieting her with a gentle squeeze.

"Excuse me, Edward, could I speak to you out in the hall?" The tone of Jasper's voice left no room for Edward to argue. It was cold and hard, and matched Jasper's gaze as he nodded toward the hall.

Once they were in the hallway, Jasper let Edward have it, making sure he knew that where he was from, that was no way to talk to a lady, especially one as good hearted as Bella.

"Excuse me, but there is nothing 'lady' about her. A lady certainly wouldn't walk around in public in her boyfriends clothing. A lady wouldn't be playing in a pile of dirt and give a cut that size a chance to get infected. Maybe you don't care about infections, but I do, it's my job." Edward eyed Jasper with a sneer.

"For your information, Bella is every inch a lady, albeit a clumsy one. She is only walking around in my clothing, because it would be much more _unladylike_ to walk 'round stark naked." At Edward's confused look, Jasper crossed his arms in front of him as he continued. "The airport lost her luggage, jerk. All she has are my clothes until they are found so she is making the best of it. Secondly, as for ladies not 'playing' in the dirt, you better be careful what you say there. There are currently three Cullen women, including your _mother_, out there 'playing in the dirt' as you say. Bella was doing the exact same job that your sisters and your mother are at this very moment doing. Now, I'm sure you don't think your mother any less of a lady for helping out where needed, now do ya?" Jasper stood back, allowing his words soak into Edward's thick skull. At Edward's silence he continued on.

"I didn't think so. You should be thankful it's not your mother or your pregnant sister in law on that table right now instead of Bella because it could have been either of them just as easily, not to mention your younger sister. As far as Bella wearing 'her boyfriend's clothing'. I got news for you, she is not my girlfriend anymore, although I certainly wish she were. We broke up years ago and have remained the best of friends; something you obviously know nothing about being." Jasper wasn't letting up and he could see Edward almost squirm under his gaze. They stood arguing back and forth, creating more and more of a scene and neither one noticed when Alberto and Carlisle approached them.

"What's going on here?" Alberto's face looked confused and scared. He wanted no trouble for his program.

"Ask the good doctor here." Jasper nodded toward Edward before addressing the man with Alberto. "Dr. Carlisle Cullen? Hi, I believe we spoke over the phone a few times, Jasper Hale." Jasper held out his hand to the older Cullen doctor as Edward struggled to regain his composure.

"Right, Jasper, how are you? It's good to finally meet the face behind the voice. I believe you are in the same group as the rest of my family." Where Edward's voice was cold and distant, Carlisle's voice was compassionate and genuine.

"That's right. We are all on the same project. In fact, my friend Bella and I are both there with them. I just brought her in for a cut on her leg that needs to be cleaned." As Carlisle's face clouded over with concern, Jasper continued to explain, "It's not too bad. She's certainly had worse in her lifetime and I'm sure it just needs a good cleaning and perhaps a few stitches." Jasper returned Carlisle's smile, then looked over at Edward and Alberto. "So, any time you want to go finish cleaning up that cut there, Doc?" Jasper phrased the question as more of a statement.

Just as Edward was about to turn the handle on the door, it opened from the other side. There stood Bella, her face smudged and dirt smeared on every part of her except for the leg with her cut. She smiled as she looked over the four of them. She glanced down at her injured leg, now bearing a fresh badge of gauze, held in place securely with tape. The skin surrounding the patch of gauze was shiny and pink from just being scrubbed clean. It was in stark contrast to the dirt smeared around the rest of her leg.

"No stitches necessary. It just needed a good cleaning." Bella smiled proudly as she limped forward, past the four men. Jasper looked away and hid his smirk as Alberto whistled. Carlisle looked over at Jasper with a question in his eyes and Edward stared on in amazement. She limped slowly toward the small nurse's station, aware that all eyes were on her now. With as much dignity as she could muster, she told the nurses proudly. "My name is Bella Swan. I came in for a cut on my leg." As the nurse shifted some papers around, Bella turned and leaned against the counter. She gave the four men a casual glance and then smirked, daring any of them to defy her.

The trip to the hospital had taken longer than expected and Bella was grateful for Alberto's offer of dropping her off at the bunks before picking up the other workers from the site. As Jasper helped her down from the truck, she offered to help the women in the kitchen with making dinner as long as she could sit on a chair and help. Alberto nodded his agreement and told her to see his wife inside. Jasper gave her a quick hug before he left to make the trip with Alberto, back to the site.

Inside the small kitchen, Bella was surprised to see dinner already in progress. There were small trays of food set up and women were busy in an assembly line, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason that Bella could make of it, but yet, it all came together smoothly. Alberto's wife came over and spoke to Bella, asking her why she was limping. As she sat in the chair relaying her story to her, she translated it for the women surrounding them that didn't speak English.

Surrounded by sympathetic stares and friendly smiles, one of the women asked a question of Alberto's wife and she in turn asked Bella if she had had any lunch. At the shake of her head, the woman handed Bella a napkin that held two small tortillas which were filled with beans, cheese and a small dollop of sour cream. As she handed it over to Bella, she smiled and said the word for it, 'baleada'. For a moment, Bella was confused, thinking that the woman was mispronouncing her name. After Alberto's wife explained that it was the food she was eating, she took a grateful bite and licked her lips, trying to show just how tasteful it truly was. She repeated the word to the woman and the two of them repeated it over and over until Bella finally said it with the right pronunciation, complete with an accent. She smiled at the small snack, grateful that it resembled the Mexican food back home so much, which made it easier for her to try something new. She laughed as took another bite, realizing that although it was almost the same as a quesadilla from the fast food Mexican restaurant back home, it offered far more in the way of taste.

Once she finished her small snack, the women set her up with a bunch of strange looking bananas, called plantains, and explained to her that she was to peel them so they could be fried up for dinner. Bella listened to the sounds of a normal kitchen going on around her. Working her way through college as a waitress, she found it almost comforting to hear the noise once again. The only real difference was the mix of Spanish and English that were both being used interchangeably.

Bella smiled as she worked side by side with the women. She looked around her and realized that she felt the homesickness, what there was of missing Renee, fading away. These women were so much like her, working, knowing that she needed to work and just doing what needed to be done. The fact that they were doing it happily and without complaint was a bonus to her. She could clean side by side with her own mother, but the complaining and listening to Renee whine about how poor they were made it miserable.

Here, no one put themselves first. It was as if they looked out for everyone else first and only when they were done helping out everyone else did they think of their own work. Bella made a mental note to spend more time getting to know these kitchen ladies and spend time helping them as much as possible. These women, found a continent away in a remote jungle village were 'her kind' of people.

Bella was so caught up with the kitchen work that she barely acknowledged that the trucks with the workers had pulled up. She smiled at the women as they nodded to her and took her work away, shooing her out of the kitchen now that she had people to speak English with. She gave them a grateful smile and left through the doorway in time to see the weary workers unload and split into two groups to go to the bunks. She didn't see Alice, but she let her eyesight follow a constant hum, knowing that where the noise was, Alice was. She laughed when she still didn't see her, but noticed that the space between Esme and Rose was where the noise was coming from. As the group separated she limped toward them.

Esme and Rose both sighed with relief when they noticed Bella. She couldn't decide if it was because they knew she would be okay or if they realized that Alice would start talking to Bella, leaving them with some peace and quiet. Bella decided it was the latter and went on to save the other two women. As if on cue, the moment Alice saw Bella, her voice cut off and she ran ahead a few steps, completely deserting her family and starting up a whole new conversation with Bella. The other women laughed and Bella thought she saw them visibly relax once Alice was no longer talking to them.

"Bella I have so much to tell you. It's too bad about your leg, does it still hurt? You're walking so much better. Jasper told everyone you were fine but you know how guys are and they downplay everything. He said Edward acted like an idiot in front of you at the hospital and I'm so sorry…" Bella sighed as she fully realized what it meant now that Alice was talking to her at breakneck speed and understood why Esme and Rose both sighed with relief.

As they made their way to the bathroom to clean up before dinner, Bella tuned Alice out and let her friend's voice become background noise as she thought about the days events. They cleaned up as best as they could without taking complete showers, Alice talking the entire time, even as she used the bathroom! As they cleaned up and Alice kept up her constant stream of chatter, Bella wasn't surprised to look into the mirror in the bathroom and see Rose walk in, see that Alice was still talking and slip right back out, completely unnoticed.

On their way into the dining hall, Bella's strength finally gave way and she paused, letting Alice get a few steps ahead as she stopped to rested her sore leg. Hoping she would go unnoticed, she hadn't realized that people were behind her and they hadn't realized she had stopped. It didn't take long for Bella to be knocked to the ground by the crowd of people making their way to dinner. As she sat on the ground cradling her skinned knee, she looked around to see if she could ask anyone for help. Apparently hospitality only included times when food was not being served. As she watched people come and go, she was surprised when she became scooped up into a pair of strong arms.

Bella shifted and looked at her rescuer seeing Alice's brother, Emmett, was now carrying her as if she weighed nothing. She glanced over his shoulder seeing Rose and the rest of the family, including Edward, who was again looking at her with a look of disgust. Bella, realizing there was nothing she could do, simply sighed and said, 'thanks Emmett' as he carried her to the hall, sitting her at a table with them, even going as far as to hold a chair for Jasper to sit with them.

Once everyone was assembled and a short prayer of thanks was given, Bella looked up and noticed the women from the kitchen sitting at a table by themselves, they smiled and nodded at her politely; she returned it with a feeling of gratefulness and peace that she had not known before coming here. As conversations started over dinner, she was surprised to hear Jasper engage Emmett in a talk about European history and Jasper's remark that it was Winston Churchill who first coined the phrase, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat'. She looked around wearily as they laughed and it was only after that she noticed that Edward and Carlisle were engaged in an extensive talk about the different blood types. It was Rose and Alice, talking to Esme that did Bella in, when she heard Rose ask in mother in law what her and Carlisle's 'song' was.

'You've Made Me So Very Happy by Blood Sweat and Tears." Esme said and looked around the table as everyone laughed and a very red faced Bella had no choice but to follow suit.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – First Week

The following morning a woman Bella recognized from the kitchen came up to her in the women's bunk. She reminded Bella that her name was 'Reyna', and she shyly handed Bella a pair of tan shorts and a lightweight, blue gauze top. She explained in broken English that she wanted Bella to be able to borrow her 'women's clothes' any time she needed and that she need only return them to receive another clean pair.

As she thanked the woman profusely, Bella glanced around and seeing no sign of men around the area or outside through the tiny windows, she hurried out of Jasper's pajamas quickly changing into Reyna's clean clothing, happy to see that they were a perfect fit. She was so thrilled with her new clothing that she couldn't help but spin around and admire the lightweight top as it flowed away from her body. It was obviously well worn, but lovingly cared for. The color was still vibrant and the material, although it was gauze and Bella expected it to be stiff, was so soft that she couldn't stop running her fingers over it. She gave the woman a grateful hug and sat on the bunk to slip her shoes on.

As Reyna left her, Alice walked up and wolf whistled at her.

"Wow Bella, that top is so pretty, and the color is perfect for you, much better than Jasper's old t-shirts. How do they get this material so soft when all they have is hand washing? It was so nice of her to give this to you." Alice too, couldn't help but run her fingers through the gauzy material as it flowed lightly away from Bella's body. Walking to breakfast, they met up with Jasper who agreed wholeheartedly that the clothes were a definite improvement on Bella's body.

As they sat down to breakfast, Bella and Jasper were filled in on the lunch they missed the previous day. They both laughed as Alice told them with a serious expression to take an extra granola bar or piece of fruit if given the chance.

"I'm not kidding, it was crazy. No one was around, and then all of the sudden, we started to eat and all these kids appeared, out of nowhere! It was crazy. It was like the movie 'Piranha' when food source is near they all attack, except they didn't really attack, more like just all gather around and waited for you to give it out to them. It was tough to decide who to give it to. When we take a trip into town, I asked mom if we could pick up something extra for them and she didn't see a problem with it but we have to check with Alberto first to make sure we aren't disrupting their diets or giving them anything to eat that they shouldn't be eating." Alice reached for a small box of cereal and added it to the banana next to her plate as if to emphasize her point.

They soon found out that Alice was not kidding. At the worksite later that day, Bella glanced around as lunchtime neared. She absentmindedly fingered the granola bar in her pocket and figured that if Alice was kidding, she could always eat it herself. At lunchtime, Jasper appeared with sandwiches and a few pieces of fruit for her and Alice. As they crossed the worksite to sit near a tree, Bella laughed when seeing Alice looking around like a spy on an undercover mission. Sitting down gently and only favoring her leg slightly Bella leaned back to back with Jasper and let Alice lean against the tree as she kept up her constant chatter, pausing only to take huge bites of her sandwich.

Small talk ensued as they started laughing again over Alice's description of lunchtime the previous day. Jasper joined in with his story about Bella ordering lunch on campus, always ordering 'a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the jelly'. When Alice asked why she didn't say just a peanut butter sandwich, Bella filled her in on the background of the story which involved a cafeteria worker that didn't speak English. After a few days of eating jelly sandwiches, Bella got her point across using her own version of broken Spanish and ordering, 'a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the jelly'.

Their laughter picked back up and soon they realized that they were no longer alone. As their own laughter died down they stared at the children surrounding them, then they realized that the children were laughing at them, covering their mouths and pointing as they were probably trying to understand their horrible Spanish. As children's laughter often is infectious, Alice, Jasper and Bella found themselves laughing with them as they shared their lunches. Afterward, they even joined them in a game of tag, which Jasper insisted was a universal game that knew no language barriers.

The noise of the children's screaming and the adult's laughter covered the loud voice that approached them. They didn't hear Emmett come up to them and it was only after scooping up one of the smaller children and running with him underarm to tag Jasper did everyone stop. The laughing boy squirmed under Emmett's arm until he released him. As soon as his feet hit the ground all children broke up the game and they scattered, realizing that the lunchtime break was over for the adults.

"So, Jazz, how about helping me with a 'special assignment' that Alberto just told me about?" Emmett said the words as he casually threw his arm across Jasper's shoulders.

"Special huh? This wouldn't be the 'special' assignment that he was talking about this morning would it?" Jasper shrugged off Emmett's thick arm and shook his head as he laughed at him. "As the Hondurans would say...no way Jose."

At Emmett's crestfallen face, Bella and Alice looked over at him with a mixture of amusement. Clearly Emmett was looking forward to digging the latrine and was saddened that no one shared his joy and enthusiasm. Alice simply shook her head and walked away, clearly use to her older brother's pout. Bella took one look at Jasper and Alice walking away from them and smiled at Emmett.

"I guess I owe you one for helping me out yesterday Emmett. Let's go play in the dirt." Bella reached for the big baby's hand and smiled as his face suddenly turned hopeful.

"Are you sure Bella? I wouldn't want Edward to get mad because you got dirt in your cut." A glimmer of hope appeared on Emmett's boyish face.

"No worry there Emmett, Edward never took care of my cut, I did it myself. He just happened to be in the clinic at the same time. Besides, I bandaged it really well so it's really none of his concern if it gets a little more dirty. Come on you big baby, I know how to use water and a bar of soap later to clean it out." Bella tugged gently as Emmett gave a small hop of delight.

Bella had to laugh as they made their way to where the latrine would be located. Emmett took every opportunity to let the workers know that they would be digging the bathroom, the potty, the commode, and the john. To one couple from London, he even said 'the loo', complete with a fake accent which had everyone in the group howling with laughter. Bella smiled and laughed as she realized that in this moment, laughing with 'her people' there was nowhere else she would rather be.

The day passed quickly, with Emmett doing a majority of the digging and Bella just following his lead. When he wasn't making people laugh, he went on to describe to Bella, in detail, that the exactness of the measurements was important. It had to be 4 x 4 wide and at least 12 feet deep. He went about it with such fervor, that Bella joined in and soon found herself covered with sweat and to her dismay, her bandage falling off. Once she got a good look at herself, she realized with horror that the pretty blue shirt was covered with streaks of sweat and dirt mixed together, which gave the appearance of mud. She brushed a sweaty strand of hair from her face and unknowingly smudged her face with more dirt. She wasn't sure how she would explain the amount of dirt on the clothes to Reyna, and briefly didn't care, she was so caught up in working that she paid little attention to her own physical self.

Wasn't this what it was all about? Heading back to the worksite, as they bounced along in the back of the truck, Bella allowed herself to be comforted by Jasper's shoulder. She rested her head and allowed the cool breeze to take her away. This was why she was here, to take care of someone else. To cater to someone else's needs, and to feel appreciated for it. She worked steadily throughout the day, never really paying attention to herself and her own needs, but rather concentrating on making a nice home for someone else. She was able to play a little, laugh a little, and work a lot. She was exhausted, but felt contentment along with that exhaustion. She smiled and giggled a little to herself as she thought of Emmett digging the latrine and the jokes that ensued.

Her soft snort of laughter caught Jasper off guard. As he peeked down at her, nested into his shoulder, he saw that she was smiling. She had her eyes closed and a smiled danced around her lips, occasionally reached the corners of her eyes as they crinkled. It was obvious to everyone that looked at her that Bella was lost in her own happy daydream. Jasper gave a knowing smile to Alice, seated across from him in the bed of the truck. He leaned closer to Bella and placed a quick, friendly kiss on her unknowing head before he looked back over and saw Alice nodding her approval at their friendship.

Once they reached the bunks, Jasper nudged Bella out of the happy thoughts that held her prisoner.

"We're home sleeping beauty." Jasper shifted away slowly so Bella wouldn't fall.

Alberto's wife greeted the truck as it pulled into the courtyard. She waved to Bella and after explaining that there was still no sign of her luggage, she handed her the small stack of clothing she was carrying, explaining to her that they would provide clean clothes for her until her were found as she was doing them such a service by volunteering. Bella looked embarrassed as she took in the state of the borrowed clothing she was wearing and quickly apologized for ruining it. Alberto's wife laughed and explained that Reyna would be able to get the dirt out with no problem.

"Out here Bella, we may not have a lot, but what we do have, we take care of. Reyna and her little family will have no problem getting those clothes clean. And from the look of it, the amount of work you did in those clothes, Reyna will be happy to clean them up. You did yourself proud today." Alberto's wife, Anna, hooked a grateful arm around Bella's shoulder as they walked to the girl's bunks.

"I'll say she did! She was great! She almost dug the cart of baño all by herself in one day!" At the sound of Emmett's loud voice, Bella jumped.

The women shook their head as Emmett extolled Bella's virtues while Rose walked beside them shaking her head and laughing along with Esme.

Bella shook her head and laughed. "I did not Emmett. You were doing most of the work, and there's still more digging to do tomorrow."

"Emmett, it's 'cuarto de baño'." Anna's voice became a mirror of Esme's as she talked to Emmett as if he were a child, making him repeat the words over and over until he pronounced them correctly.

They split up as they neared the bunks and easily broke up into men and women. Bella held her little cache of clothes close as she sniffed them. They smelled strongly of the outdoors and barely at all of the detergent that would make them clean, yet when she held up the shorts, she couldn't find a trace of dirt on them. She placed the pile onto her pillow, hoping that a little of the outdoorsy scent would seep into it. She reached into the pile and took a plain pink t-shirt and a long white skirt made of the same gauzy material as her ruined top. She decided to wear the nicer clothing in the evening, saving the shorts and casual tops for the worksite. She gave herself a slight shake as she picked up her one clean pair of panties and shook her head. If only she was able to get clean underclothes. Then an idea struck her. She reached over and grabbed Jasper's boxers that she had used to sleep in and decided to wear them under the skirt. As she made her way to the women's side of the bathroom, she heard Reyna fall into step beside her. She apologized to the woman for the state of her clothes as Reyna balanced a child on her slender hip.

Reyna shook her head at Bella, smiling as she waved her on toward the bathroom. Once there, she motioned for Bella to go about her business while she cleaned up the small room. Women came and went into the small room, including Alice and her family. Bella stopped every so often, amazed as she watched Reyna work with the child balanced on her hip, her back, and at one point she even balanced the child on her thigh as she scrubbed the sink until it shined. It was taking her longer, due to the fact that she paid more attention to her leg and needed it especially clean. She caught the woman's smile in the mirror and smiled back at her. Reyna reached behind a small curtain under a sink producing a sealed box. She opened it and took a bandage and some fresh gauze from it and handed it to her. After giving her the clothing and thanking her again she gave one last smile as she heard the woman's parting words.

"De nada, Isa-Bella." Reyna said carefully as she gathered up the used clothing, including Bella's own panties, and left with the child happily perched on her back and the clothing gathered up in her arms. The woman's smile was so genuine and warm that Bella didn't even panic at the thought of being minus one pair of her underwear, which had now become a precious commodity to her.

Everyone again assembled at dinner time together. It had quickly become routine for one of their group to commandeer an entire table and save the rest of the seats for the others. Bella thought it was funny how quickly they formed a little clique, just like in grade school. Mealtimes were a shared experience between the Cullen family and Jasper and Bella. Bella had cleaned up as best she could for the dinner, worrying only slightly at the clothing she picked from her borrowed wardrobe.

Although the pink shirt and white skirt was never in a million years what she would have chosen for herself, she did find it in herself to be grateful for their loose fitting shape and cleanliness. She reached the table just as everyone was bowing their head for the short prayer and smiled as she looked around at everyone already sitting at the table. Everyone managed to return her small smile except for Edward, his constant look of disgust ever present on his beautiful face. Bella bowed her head quickly and felt a pang of guilt as her mind drifted during the prayer and continued to think of Edward, wondering if the sneer on his face was always there or if he reserved it special, just for her. She caught herself in time to mumble a quick 'Amen' with the rest of the group and decided that she would make up for it with a nighttime prayer to assuage her guilt.

Dinner time was a happy affair as they all talked amongst each other. Emmett keep trying to engage people into the conversation about the toilet he was so proud of and each time he mentioned it, Rose rolled her eyes, gathering a laugh from Emmett himself. It was obvious to everyone at the table that he was trying to get a bigger reaction from Rose than she was willing to give. This went on until Edward himself intervened by telling his family that he and Carlisle might be volunteering to go on a short trip father into the jungle to deliver vaccinations to a small group there.

"Isn't that incredibly dangerous? We were supposed to stay within our groups Carlisle." Esme's gentle voice became worried as she leaned over toward her husband.

"It is dangerous Esme." He said with a pointed look at Edward. "Which is why I wasn't going to say anything until it was definite. Edward jumped the gun a bit because nothing has been finalized." Carlisle reached his arm comfortingly around his wife's shoulder giving her a quick kiss.

Immediately Alice was on the case asking questions. She wanted to know who made the arrangements and what group was involved. She asked if there wasn't anyone else willing to go or if they were going to take volunteers first and then come right out and ask for help. She kept a worried crease on her tiny forehead as she chatted away; her questions having all went unanswered by her father and brother. By the time dinner was finished, she was no closer to any answers but was definitely more worried as she thought up new ones. Bella felt sad for her friend. She wore her heart on her sleeve and it was obvious just how much love she felt for her entire family.

As she made her way slowly and more quiet to the bunk, Bella looked over at Jasper and motioned toward Alice. Knowing just how much Jasper could influence her own mood, she had no doubt that he could cheer Alice right up. Alice speed chatting may be hard to handle sometimes, but Alice in a subdued and depressed state was almost unbearable for Bella as she had become so used to the 'white background noise' of Alice's voice.

"So Alice, Bella bailed on me for a game of chess tonight, you interested?" Jasper took only two more steps to completely catch up to Alice tiny strides. For every one step of Jasper's Alice had to take almost three. He noticed this and started walking slower. Bella laughed as she watched the two of them almost dance, Jasper's slow walking almost looked like he was marching down the proverbial aisle. In contrast, Alice with her small quick steps seemed to almost be floating, making Bella glance at her feet to make sure they were actually touching the ground instead of floating. The motion was so fast and undetected that Bella laughingly decided that Alice was flying down the proverbial aisle. She caught herself in a laugh and she felt someone nudge her out of her thoughts.

"Quite a pair aren't they?" Edward's voice, and his sarcasm, came through loud and clear.

"Like two peas in a pod." Bella felt her hair stand on end as she caught his tone of voice.

"Actually I was thinking more like oil and water. They have absolutely nothing in common." Bella looked over catching the shake of Edward's head.

"I think they have more in common than you know. Physically they may be opposites," Bella chose to ignore Edward's sneer of 'ya think?' and she continued, "but inside where you don't see it, they have identical souls."

"Spoken like a true romantic. Alice should know better than to let her feelings show through so completely. She should be more careful of people like Jasper." Edward caught himself before he said anything further.

"People like Jasper?" Bella echoed him and stopped. Turning, she pulled on Edward's arm, forcing him to face her before he walked away. "You mean people like me don't you?" Bella's jaw dropped open hopelessly as she waited for a denial that never came. After all she had been through and after finally feeling comfortable here, she was not about to have his negativity rub off on her.

"Look, it's a real great idea, everyone coming here and falling in love in a foreign country. Alice has brilliant ideas about what real love is and she won't settle for anything less. Your friend couldn't possibly measure up to what she deserves." Edward jammed his hands in his front pants pockets.

"What she deserves? For your information, Jasper is one of the most decent men out there and your sister should be so fortunate as to have him like her. I know Jasper and I can tell you right now that he wouldn't even be talking to your sister if he didn't think she was worthy of his attention." At Bella's words, the two of them glanced over to the other couple.

As if it had suddenly struck them both simultaneously, they glanced back at each other. The unspoken words came to both their minds. 'What if Jasper and Alice truly fell for each other'?

"Well, apparently Jasper thinks she is worthy, the question is, does she feel the same way? So far they seem to be getting along rather well, but only time will tell if she truly likes him enough to be interested." The sound of disgust was evident again in Edward's words.

"Geez Ed, could you try to hold back your criticism? Alice didn't criticize you when you were talking about leaving to go on a hike in the middle of nowhere did she? Could you sound like any more of a snob? So what if they like each other? What exactly about that bothers you?" Bella ignored the goings on around them and never noticed the darkness falling as they continued to hurl insults at each other.

"Just the fact that Alice takes love very seriously. She shouldn't have to settle and as her older brother I am not going to let her. I've been down that road before and I refuse to let her make the same mistake I did. Fairytales and daydreams may be the stuff young girls dream of, but they are best left on the shelf of childhood bedrooms. They have no place in the real world, where women are only after one thing." The tone of Edward's voice all but accused Bella outright of being a gold digger.

"I can't believe you even said that. I'll have you know, that Jasper would never take what Alice wouldn't willingly give him. For that matter, you may as well know that Jasper has absolutely no use of Alice's money. His family is well taken care of. But then again, why am I even explaining this to you? You get to know him yourself and then you'll see what everyone else who meets him sees. If I have to defend my best friend's actions to you, then you clearly aren't worth getting to know Edward, regardless of what your sister thinks." Bella turned and stormed off, leaving Edward alone in the now darkened courtyard.

Later that week, Bella sat in the dining area with Emmett, Rose, Esme and Carlisle Cullen. Bella had lost a bet to Emmett on the worksite earlier that day about whether they would finish the latrine or not. He had also worked extra hard with the construction worker group to make sure that they did finish it and that she would lose their bet. After spending the last five days on it she was sure they would need another day. She could hardly believe her eyes when she came back after lunch and saw the workers putting the toilet in and hanging the door. Now, she was forced to endure a game of checkers against Emmett. She glanced over longingly at Carlisle and Esme's chess game sighing as she reached over to jump another of Emmett's checkers. Rose laughed from the chair where she was reading her book.

"King me Emmett." Bella said unenthusiastically. She rested her head in her hand as she tried to concentrate on not losing to Emmett so quickly. As they played on, they were interrupted by a commotion out in the courtyard. Everyone ran to the window except Rose, who was resting comfortably and was content to just sit and watch.

Bella was knocked to the back of the group as everyone crowded around the doorway. She moved back as Jasper pushed his way in, a sniffling Alice in his arms. Alberto and Anna trailed after them quickly with a small first aid kit.

Jasper sat down and held Alice close, making no effort to put her down by herself. Bella went right to them and asked what happened as Alberto checked over Alice's small ankle filing in Carlisle who was now crouched close to his daughter.

"There was a snake Bella. I just chased it away is all." Jasper rocked Alice's small body as her sniffling grew into sobs at the mention of the word 'snake'.

"Señor Jasper, that was no ordinary snake." Alberto shook his head as he straightened up as he continued to address the group that had gathered in the dining room now. She didn't get bit, but she easily could have. That was a Jumping Viper snake. It is extremely rare that one would come so close to our little residential area. It has a short and muscular looking body. It blends in with the ground which is why no one saw it. They usually come out only at night and usually only eat small animals like mice and frogs. They do really jump when they bite and their venom is poisonous. They tend to hide also, which is why Señorita Alice never saw it as she bent over to fix her shoe. This one was hiding under a pile of leaves. I want to caution everyone to be more careful outside at night. This particular snake was dealt with by some of our workers and it no longer a threat to us." Alberto finished off smiling back at Carlisle as he nodded at Alice's being safe.

Alice refused to let go of Jasper's neck and neither one made any move to get up from where they sat together. Bella sat down quickly at the table and one by one Alice's family did the same. Alberto dispersed the crowd of people as they gave the family some privacy.

"I want to warn you again, this is rare, but it can happen. Just please everyone be more careful." Anna shooed everyone out into the courtyard and toward the bunks before she returned to join the Cullen family. Alice now was turned to face everyone, but still sat sideways in Jasper's arms. She dabbed at her tear stained face with a tissue from her mother who hovered and brushed back Alice's short spikes from her forehead.

"I won't lie to you, little Alice. This could have been nasty for you. Your size wouldn't have helped either. Even humans your boyfriend's size would have had a hard time recovering from a bite inflicted by this snake." Alberto folded his arms before turning to Carlisle. "This is rare Señor to have your daughter is here when you are. While she is an adult, I feel it only fair to give you a say in whether she goes out tomorrow to the worksite or stays here and works in the kitchen."

No one made any attempt to correct Alberto's obvious mix up at calling Jasper, 'Alice's boyfriend', and Bella herself saw no reason to complicate things by mentioning it. She looked over at Edward's face to gauge his reaction. Carlisle's reaction and words became background noise to Bella as she looked at Edward, his expression unreadable to her as he stared at Jasper and Alice. She stared a few more moments before she actually heard Alice's voice finally speak.

"I'll go. I mean, as long as Jasper is there, I won't have a problem with the snakes. I am just grateful that my boyfriend isn't afraid of snakes. I'd like to still go out with the group. I am more startled by what might have happened than by the actual snake itself." Alice gave Jasper one last hug, which he returned, before she started to climb down. Emmett and Rose came around and thanked Jasper before leaving the dining room, their games brushed aside and already cleaned up by the staff. Carlisle and Esme motioned for Alice to follow, knowing that they would insist on a small bit of time with just Alice, after all, if she were bitten, she would have certainly died. Alice smiled one last smile to Jasper and mouthing the word 'tomorrow' to him, she joined her parents walking out into the night.

The three of them continued to stare at each other, no words being spoken. It was Bella who finally opened up the communication.

"So, boyfriend huh?" She said playfully punching him in the shoulder as she laughed. Jasper smiled at her but didn't return the laugh.

"Bells, you need to know this, as do you Edward." Jasper leaned forward in his chair, his arms outstretched on the table. "I did ask Alice to be my girlfriend. Alberto wasn't lying. He heard us talking earlier, right after dinner. We were on our way to tell y'all when she got a rock in her shoe and bent down to take it off and shake it out. As she was putting it back on, she lost her balance and sidestepped into a pile of leaves. I saw the snake before she did. She only saw it after I stepped…" Jasper was cut off by Edward.

"Wait a minute, you're dating my sister, here? In Honduras, you are actually going to attempt to date her?" Edward's voice was incredulous as he stared open mouthed at Jasper.

Jasper made no attempt to even talk to Edward as he now looked over at Bella and continued. "I stepped on its head so it wouldn't be able to bite her. Once the workers reached us they finished it off, but I think it was already dead from the heel of my boot." Jasper almost smirked as he thumped his heel on the ground under the table for emphasis.

"Jasper, I'm thankful you did. I'd hate for anything to have happened to Alice. She's becoming a true friend to me. Well, to us now I guess. I have to say you move fast Jazz. Not even a full week here and you're already scoping out the possibilities." Bella and Jasper shared an easy laugh as he stood to leave, shaking his head at her insinuation. As they both stood, Edward rose to join them.

"Jasper, I want to thank you for your help with Alice today." Edward said the words as he reached his hand out in a truce offering for Jasper. "I am very protective of my little sister, but I appreciate that she now has another set of eyes to look out for her…and I apologize. I apparently misjudged you at first." Edward stood uncomfortably as Jasper made him wait with his hand extended. He knew forgiveness was not going to be easy.

"Edward, there's no need to ask forgiveness. You always had it. For what it's worth, if I had a little sister, I would only hope that I could find someone like me to watch out for her." Jasper reached out his own hand smirking as Bella laughed at his patting himself on the back. Edward barely kept from rolling his eyes.

As Jasper left, Bella crossed her arms in front of her and glared at Edward.

"See? I told you not to make snap decisions about people. You just need to get to know people first before you judge them. Don't you feel silly about judging us before you got to know us?" Bella narrowed her eyes at him but couldn't help the smirk that played on her lips.

"What do you mean 'us'. I merely thanked Jasper for watching out for Alice. I may have misjudged him in the beginning. I admit to that I was wrong about him. You however, I have yet to be proved wrong about." Edward took his ugly opinion about Bella and stormed out of the dining hall, leaving her to only wonder why she cared so much about his opinion of her.

For his part, he didn't understand it either. He looked around carefully for more snakes, Alberto's assurance having fallen on his deaf ears at the time. As he made his way back to the men's bunks, he jammed his hands into his pants pockets and slowed his stride after carefully scoping out the ground. His thoughts were a mess. He couldn't form a coherent thread inside his brain. He had to admit he was wrong about Jasper, that was bad enough. But to admit that he might be wrong about this Bella girl? How did he know that he was?

True enough that on the surface she was nothing like Tanya, but what about underneath? Had he made a mistake? Similar to judging Jasper and Alice, they look like opposites but they attracted, just like magnets, it wasn't their outward coating that attracted them to each other but their inner qualities. Same with Jasper and Alice, sure they were both attracted to the outside looks, but Edward felt he knew his sister well enough that he could trust that there were underlying qualities that attracted him to her as well. Could Bella and Tanya be the same way? Identical on the surface, both attractive females, but what if the similarities ran deeper than the visual? Did he want to stick around to find out and take a chance that his heart would get crushed again?

He had only just started to put the pieces of his heart back together, he had lived for these past months with it broken. He hadn't bothered to fix it, knowing that he didn't need it unless he wanted to feel something. Sadly, the female population of Forks had left him with the opinion that he'd rather not feel at all.

He had thrown himself into his work to help ease the stress of the fractures running through his heart. Work was a cold comfort in bed at night though. It would be nice to have someone next to him, in his bed and in his life in general. As he glanced over at the women's bunkhouse, he could just make out Jasper and Alice standing together near the doorway, their forms silhouetted against the light from inside. With a quick glance behind him at the dining hall, Edward continued on toward the men's bunkhouse.

Never one to make rash decisions, Edward thought over his predicament while he readied himself for sleep. Knowing what he wanted, someone to warm his icy heart and his cold bed at night, he knew he would never find it if he didn't at least put himself out there. With a new determination, Edward Cullen crawled onto his bed and tried to sleep, thinking of someone who would maybe one day share his bed back in Forks with him. He couldn't understand why Bella's face was the one he saw as he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Perspective

It was the last workday of their first week in Honduras. Edward had truly enjoyed having the opportunity to expand his medical knowledge and abilities, as well as be able to help serve people who were truly in need, but he also felt like he wasn't getting the same cultural experience that the rest of his family, apart from Carlisle, appeared to be experiencing.

Each night he was able to listen to his family members, along with Jasper, and Bella, though she mostly listened, as they recounted new tales of "firsts" in a foreign land, and Edward found himself wishing he'd had the opportunity to be with them to share in these moments. That being said, he was happy that their initial orientation at the clinic had finished for the week and that he was going to be able to join the rest of "the crew" on the worksite today as well as being able to alternate days at the clinic and the work sites beginning the following week.

Edward finished throwing on his clothes and headed to the kitchen area to have a bowl of cereal. He looked around to see if any of his family were already eating, but saw that so far only Jasper had made his way there. Jasper waved Edward over then scooted a few cereal boxes along with the milk over to Edward to share. It appeared that Jasper had tried to grab enough boxes for most of their group for breakfast.

Edward had to admit to himself that once he had taken the time to get to know Jasper a little bit better, he actually appeared to be a pretty cool laid back kind of guy. That didn't mean that Edward had no reservations about this summer romance he and his sister had started, or whatever it was, but what did he know? He was the one with the screwed up relationship that left him so emotionally wounded he could barely trust anyone, or so his sister told him.

Edward and Jasper began to discuss some of the different tasks that they would be working on during the day, since they would be finishing up a number of projects they had started during the week. It was easy to see that Jasper was truly enjoying himself as he had a constant smile the whole time he spoke.

Soon enough Jasper started to get up, stating that he was going to finish getting ready before they headed out. Before he walked away, he turned back to Edward, looking him meaningfully in the eyes, as he stated "Edward, today as we are at the work site, make sure you truly take the time to open your eyes and see...really see...what's going on in the little moments that occur throughout the day. You'd might be surprised what you will learn." and then he turned walking off, leaving Edward speechless at the table.

Soon enough they had made their way to the worksite and were given their assignments, everyone automatically split up into different groups, appearing to know exactly what needed to be done. Edward felt a little lost and out of place but Emmett just grabbed him by the shoulder dragging him along.

"You can come work with us for now and if you decide you want to help out with the other groups in a while to learn more about the different things we have been working on this week that's cool, but for now, let's do some manly work." Emmett laughed heartily nudging Edward in the side.

"And what exactly is dubbed 'manly work' Emmett?" Edward pretended to be annoyed but really couldn't help but smile at his brother, his exuberance for even the littlest tasks infectious.

"We are going to mix concrete. And I don't mean with a sissy machine. We are going to use guns," Emmett stated as he flexed his muscles, leaning over to kiss one of the said "guns".

Emmett instructed Edward with measurement of dirt to sand to water ratio for the concrete, using "wheelbarrow" units for the sand, and "until it looks right" for the water. _Wow, they sure do have an exact science for this don't they?_ Edward thought to himself sarcastically, wondering how this was ever going to actually work.

Soon enough they had mixed so many wheelbarrows of dirt with an approximate amount of concrete from a bag on the ground. Emmett had informed Edward of the "volcano" style way in which to properly mix concrete and that they would need to move quickly once the water had been added.

Emmett proceeded to add many bucketfuls of water, handed Edward his shovel, and yelled "GO!" as they began to build the volcano, turning the mixture in order to supposedly make concrete. By the time they had finished Edward was sweating but amazed at the perfect mixture of concrete they had made.

Emmett sensed Edward's awe that they had actually just essentially "made" concrete, and smirked as he said "Yeah man, soon enough you'll learn to stop questioning the Honduran way. It may seem crazy, but it works. Now let's scoop this stuff into a wheelbarrow and roll it to the house so the crew over there can start building the next layer of the wall of the house."

According to Emmett the outer structure of the home was finished as they had built it throughout the week and the goal today was to finish the walls for the inside of the house.

"Dude, just wait 'til tomorrow morning. You are sooo going to be feeling every muscle you never knew you had from turning that concrete,," He chuckled as he pushed the wheelbarrow towards the house.

Before he knew it a few hours had passed and it was lunch time. Everyone had begun to wind down from their different groups and was moving to drink water or sit in the shade as Esme began to distribute the sandwiches. Edward couldn't believe how exhausted he was from the day so far, as everyone had seemed so happy and chatty at dinner that he never would have realized they were working this hard.

He began to sip at his water and soon was drinking it like a starved man in a desert as he realized that he was extremely thirsty and had gotten so caught up in the work during the morning that he really had not stopped to drink most of the morning.

As Edward looked around he saw that Emmett looked like he was making love to his peanut butter and jelly sandwich he was enjoying it so much, while Rose just rolled her eyes while smiling at her goofball of a husband. Esme and Carlisle were seated with Alberto on the back of the truck eating, chatting animatedly; Alice and Jasper were making googly eyes at one another while they sat under the shade of another tree eating.

He started to bite into his own sandwich when he realized that someone was missing from the situation.

"Hmmph, she probably thinks she's too good to eat with everyone else," Edward thought to himself as he started to eat what had to be the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich he'd ever had, though it looked exactly like every other PB&J he'd ever had, though he had never eaten after such hard labor before either.

He surveyed the sights around him. The house was really coming along, it appeared that aside from pouring the floors of the house and adding a roof, the main structure of the house should be completed by the end of the day.

In addition, he heard from Alice that their latrine was pretty close to being completely dug before adding the main structure to it as well. He had yet to wander over and look at it, so he would make a point to go check it out sometime after lunch.

He noticed that, because they had come during the "rainy season", where they generally received one or two small rain showers during the day, the land was fresh with plant life, and he enjoyed observing the natural beauty of a country.

In a few swift bites the first sandwich was long gone, and Edward began to chow into his second sandwich.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a large group of children gathering near a group of the concrete blocks they had been using to build the walls of the house. The children had all climbed on top of the bricks, but, opposed to what he had been hearing the whole week about the children coming over to the group and receiving food, it appeared the children had no interest in what any of them were doing.

Upon closer inspection he noticed that there was an older looking girl in the middle of the group that all the children were looking at with smiles of pure joy and affection on their faces. He could not see her well but he could tell that the children must really care for and respect her. Whoever she was, there had to be something special about her with the way all the children were drawn to her like moths to a flame, smiling and laughing, as they appeared to be munching on something.

He had just plopped the last bite of his second sandwich into his mouth when one of the children moved so he could see the girls face better, and he almost choked on his sandwich as he received that this was not just some girl the children had surrounded, it was Bella.

She had a look of happiness on her face that he had not seen before. As she laughed, all the children laughed in time with her, as if she were a light that spread joy amongst the group of them, and they circled around her brightness, just wanted to be closer to that light.

He was so caught up in watching this interaction that he jumped as someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned seeing Alice looking at him meaningfully.

"What?" he almost barked at her, still startled at being caught staring.

"I didn't say anything." Alice stated, though a small smile was tugging at her lips.

They looked at one another for a few moments, waiting to see who would give in first.

"Ever since the first day, the children have fallen in love with her. They follow her whenever, wherever they can."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Edward tried to pretend like he hadn't noticed.

"Oh brother dear, you don't have to pretend to be so tough all the time. It's okay to be touched by something you observe here. We are all being touched in different ways every day. It's also okay to let your guard down. Not everyone is out to get you, or has an ulterior motive. Take the time to get to know her. I think you'll like what you see once you look beyond the surface." And with that Alice turned and bounced away.

_What is with everyone and their cryptic comments today?_ he thought as he finally managed to get himself together again packing up his trash after throwing down a couple cookies and some more water, ready to begin the afternoon.

After lunch they hurried back to work. The goal was to finish all the inner walls of the house before the end of the day. They alternately mixed concrete and wheel barrowed it over to the house to plop between the rows and place concrete blocks for a few more hours before they had run out of water to mix the concrete with.

Emmett's face lit up as he hollered "YES! Let's go fishin!"

Edward gave him a confused look, as everyone proceeded to fill him in that they had to take the large plastic trash can down to the river to fill it up with water, so it had become a running joke amongst the group that this was "going fishing".

Alberto suggested that Edward could either take a break while they went to collect more water or he could check out where the others had been working on the latrine a little ways behind the house.

As Emmett, Alberto, and Carlisle headed out to collect more water, Edward decided to head over and check out the latrine area.

Esme, Rose, and Alice appeared to be sitting under the tree resting for a few minutes.

He watched as Jasper climbed out of the hole...though he wondered how since there didn't appear to be a ladder anywhere, and then as Bella proceeded to hop down from her seat on the ledge of the hole down into the latrine.

Jasper just shook his head with a small smile on his face as he looked down at his crazy friend who had just jumped into the hole.

Edward decided the hole surely couldn't be that deep if she had jumped down inside, even though everyone had been saying that the hole was like the _great abyss_ all week.

As he made his way over to the latrine he chatted with his mother for a few minutes about how their work had been going on the walls of the house and how he actually was enjoying mixing concrete the _manly way_ as Emmett called it, despite the fact that each batch made him feel as if he had run a marathon he was so tired and out of breath at the end of it.

He decided to make his way to the edge of the latrine and was shocked as he looked down into the whole. The group hadn't been exaggerating when they said that it was a really deep hole.

Bella had to have been at least 10-11 feet down, and it sounded like she was quietly singing to herself as she working, slamming the shovel into the ground to dig up an area around her.

Edward turned to look at the others "Was I seeing things or did she just jump down there?"

Jasper responded as he laughed, "No you weren't seeing things. That girl isn't as fragile as she looks. She's pretty hard core. She doesn't even try to ease her way down in there. Just hops down like she's just hopping down off a counter or something."

At that moment Bella looked up as she said "Could someone pass me a..." trailing off as she noticed Edward was standing at the top of the hole looking down at her.

She couldn't read his facial expression from the distance, and momentarily lost her train of thought.

Edward on the other hand was completely surprised as his train of thought was that she actually looked kind of adorable with her hair all tied up and smudges of dirt peppered her face that had become beautifully and naturally flushed from the time she had spent in the sun.

Somewhere behind him someone cleared their throat, breaking him out of his stupor.

"Oh sorry, what were you saying?" he asked.

"Ummm...oh ya...could you ask someone to pass down a bucket so I can fill it with dirt to send up?"

Edward looked around and found that everyone seemed to be looking at him like they knew some secret joke that he wasn't a part of, but then Jasper passed him a bucket, saying "Bucket time already huh? She works so fast."

Jasper then proceeded to walk over, dropping a bucket down into the hole that was attached to a rope, which Bella quickly filled up with dirt; he pulled back up to toss into a large dirt pile nearby.

"Wow, no wonder it takes so long to dig down there if you have to keep doing that all day long. What a tedious process." Edward stated

"No joke," Jasper replied. "but at least we get to rotate throughout the day. It seems crazy to say, but it's actually kind of fun."

This ritual of digging and bucket sending continued for about twenty more minutes before Bella stated that she'd had enough, and, to his great amazement, she pushed her arms and legs against the sides of the large hole, managing to shimmy her way almost to the top where Jasper reached and grabbed her under her arms, pulling her the rest of the way up.

Edward had to admit, this girl was surprising him more and more, he was almost beginning to wonder if maybe he had been a little harsh in his judgment of her.

Then she opened her mouth. "So pretty boy, you up next?"

Just as he was about to respond they heard the sound of the truck on gravel, and Emmett hollering "We hit the jackpot Eddie! Come help us get this thing out of the truck."

Edward managed to mumble "Well, guess I better go help them. I suppose I'll see you guys later on." and he could have sworn he saw Bella's smile fall just a little bit as he turned to walk away.

Everyone turned in early Friday night as they were all exhausted from the long work days in the sun. Alberto had told them they could sleep in some but that he wanted to try to leave camp before nine in the morning because he had a special outing he wanted to take them on.

After they had breakfast and got ready Saturday morning, they all hopped in the back of the truck to head to...wherever it was Alberto was taking them. Though they were separated by a rack in the back of the truck, whenever they hit a bump, Edward and Bella's arms or shoulders would rub against each others; each of them wondered whether the other felt the electricity that seemed to spark between them each time, though neither would look at one another to acknowledge that they had felt anything at all.

Soon enough they pulled up in front of a place with locked gates in front of it and a sign that said "Por los ninos". Everyone in the back started trying to guess what that stood for when Bella quietly mumbled "I think it means 'for the children'.

"How do you know?" Edward meant to just ask a question, though it accidentally came out sounding sharper than he meant for it to. He was still on edge from the current he felt running between them the whole ride that he didn't understand, he knew there was no medical explanation for this occurring.

Jasper turned glaring at Edward, but Bella ignored the sharp tone, instead simply explained that the women in the kitchen had been helping her with some Spanish vocabulary and helping her practice using it.

Someone from inside opened the gates and soon they were driving into the facility. There were a number of buildings spread out over the area and they noticed a number of children walking around and some young boys playing soccer in an open area.

They parked the truck and everyone unloaded.

Alberto went on to explain that this was one of the local orphanages, and they currently housed over one hundred and fifty children. They were introduced to an American couple who had lived there for over five years helping to run the orphanage, and who would take them on a tour.

The group was lead through the different classrooms, which surprisingly looked as if they could have been in any classroom in the United States, they had all the usual items: desks, tables, chairs, bulletin boards, art work, and projects displayed everywhere. They even had a computer room, which they explained was a recent donation from a church.

The children attend school on a regular calendar year. They had a number of the same teachers from year to year, but also a number of new teachers each year as well.

Edward couldn't help but notice that Bella seemed extremely interested in the classrooms, she was talking more than he had ever heard her, asking lots of questions about the curriculum, and the programs they used there. Her face was lit up with joy, he couldn't help but smile as her excitement radiated out from her.

He wasn't sure why his smile suddenly faltered when he noticed that she and Jasper were talking quietly with one another as if no one else were there, but tried to attribute it to the fact that it bothered him to see his sister's boyfriend interacting so intimately with another woman.

As they meandered their way over to some of the houses he thought he heard Bella say "That would be such an amazing opportunity Jazz..." and Jasper respond "You are an amazing teacher. You would be an amazing teacher anywhere."

They toured through a number of the houses. Many of the children would peek out of their doors to watch them as they walked by, but mostly did not attempt any interaction with the group, appearing somewhat shy.

It didn't escape anyone's notice, however, when they were in the last house asking different questions about how many of the children had come to end up at the orphanage, that Bella was in the corner, quietly conversing in broken Spanish with some of the smaller children. Jasper noticed Edward watching Bella and leaned over as he said "Bella may take time to warm up to adults, but she is a natural with children. She loves them and they love her."

After they finished their tour, the couple who owned the camp said that they were free to stay around as long as they'd like, playing with the children or just looking around.

Alberto suggested the guys join in on a soccer game that was occurring between some of the older boys at the orphanage in one of the larger open areas.

Bella and the rest of the women decided to sit down and were soon surrounded by a number of smaller young girls. Before they knew it, all the girls were hugging one another, braiding one another's hair, and just having a wonderful time being together, despite some of the language barriers.

The first time Bella looked up over at the guys playing, she was surprised to see a number of them had taken off their shirts. She watched the group play and when Edward ran by, she couldn't help but notice that he was beautifully toned. She hadn't realized that she was staring until he turned to look at her, raising his eyebrows as he observed her watching him, as a blush rose up over her cheeks and turned to allow her hair to cover her face, hiding her embarrassment at being caught staring.

Edward allowed himself to watch her for a few lingering moments, unsure of the emotion that he was beginning to feel when he watched her, especially with how amazing she was with the children, and how easily she blended with his family.

Before he could ponder the thought much further, he was suddenly plowed into and taken down by a member of the other team as he allowed to ball the fly past him, and fell on the ground. Alberto laughed, coming over to help him up, declaring that maybe they should call it a game and head back to the camp to clean up for the night.

Alberto announced that they would all be heading to a local restaurant dinner, so after everyone had showered they all walked a few blocks to a cute little restaurant serving local food, which Alberto assured them all had been cleaned and purified.

The restaurant was set up so that they had to tell the ladies which items they wanted and the price was based on the items you decided to get.

When Alice and Bella got to the end of the line, Alice asked the woman what dessert was in the case behind her. When she said it was _Tres Leches_ cake Alice jumped up and down excitedly asking Bella if she would please share a piece with her.

During dinner everyone laughed, truly enjoying the company, sharing experiences throughout their first week. Some were funny, some serious, but it was clear that they had all already developed a bond over this amazing experience. No one could believe they had already been there for a week.

When it came time for dessert Alice dug right in, "ooooh"ing and "ahhh" ing over how fabulous it was. Bella was a little more hesitant, but after taking her first bite, easily declared it was one of the best desserts she had ever tasted. Edward, who was to the right of Alice, and across the table from Bella, was looking at Bella with a curious expression when Alice elbowed him stating that he absolutely had to try the cake.

He snapped out of his trance, stuttering and looking at Bella, attempting to ask her if she was okay with him tasting it. She interrupted him saying that "it would almost be a sin to past up tasting something so delicious." urging him to taste it; he too agreed it was pretty fantastic.

Once they all finished dinner they headed back to camp for the night to wind down and relax for the evening.

After getting back to camp and being social with the girls for a while, Bella stated that she was going to head outside to read for a little while before heading to bed.

She walked out to the deck that was lit at night with the hammocks. As she approached the deck she noticed that there was one other person occupying a hammock, and when she got close enough, she realized that person was Edward.

He was laid back in one of the hammocks with his pajama pants on, glasses and hair in disarray. She studied him for a moment then realized that he really was an extremely attractive man.

Surely he had women throw themselves at him all the time, merely based on his looks.

_Maybe that's why he was so...off-putting the first time I met him. He was worried I was going to try and make a pass at him. _So he just decided to nip it in the bud before it started_._ She shrugged internally, realizing it didn't really matter since there was no way this gorgeous man would ever show interest in someone as plain as her, so it wasn't even worth contemplating the issue. Plus, they were only going to be here a month, then would be going back to the United States. No, she wouldn't think about it again.

Edward heard someone approaching, he turned to see Bella in a pair of cute pajama shorts, fitted t-shirt, with her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head. She fidgeted uncomfortably for a moment before and Edward realized he was, again, staring.

"Those clothes look like they fit you better. Crap, I didn't mean it like that..." he tried to back peddle realizing he was putting his foot in his mouth again.

Bella cut him off, chuckling a little at the fact that he was so embarrassed, she informed him that her suitcase had finally made its way to camp earlier in the day, so the fact that the clothes fit her better was because they were, in fact, her own clothes.

"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked indicating the other open hammock on the deck.

"No of course not, I was just trying to relax and do some reading."

"What are you reading?" Bella asked while she plopped herself onto the hammock, lightly swinging with her as she scooted her way into the hammock.

"Oooh...you know, just some medical journals. How about you?"

"Oooh...you know, just some book on aliens trying to take over humankind. It's by the same author who wrote those books that created that huge vampire craze."

Edward couldn't help but laugh realizing this was the first time he had seen her so relaxed...and telling jokes at that.

"Yes, I believe I've heard of those. My sister and sister-in-law got really into that series."

Bella smiled in return, this was the first time they had truly been alone together, and was pleasantly surprised to find him with such a relaxed, pleasant demeanor.

They continued to look at each other for a moment, Bella was just about to open her book to read when Edward said "I just wanted to say I'm sorry, you know, about when you came to the medical clinic. I must have seemed like such a jerk. My sister keeps telling me that I can't let my past experiences affect my relationships with others, and, you know, judging people before I actually get to know them. What is it they say about men? Stubborn? Pig-headed? Well, I suppose in this instance that would be correct. So...yeah, I just wanted to say I'm sorry that I pre-judged you. I've seen you with my family and I can tell they absolutely adore you, and, well, you get along amazingly with the children, and I'm just...I'm sorry. Is there any way maybe we can start over?"

It took Bella a moment to re-compose her face after the shock of the speech that Edward had just spilled out, understanding that it had taken a lot of guts for him to suck it up and admit his mistakes, before she smiled warmly at him, saying "I'd love to."

They continued to chat for a while about some of the highlights of their week, both at the clinic for Edward and at the worksite for Bella, before they lapsed into an easy silence.

Every once in a while they would glance over at one another, smile, and then look back at their reading.

Bella was thinking about how perfect this first week had been, far more amazing than she could have ever imagined, she slipped into sleep with a smile of perfect contentment on her face.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8 - Friends

During one of Edward's glances up from his hammock, he was surprised to see that Bella didn't meet his gaze but instead had her face turned away from him. He tried not to let his disappointment show but by the third time, he decided he had enough of her ignoring him and stood up, pretending to stretch.

"Well, I know this probably makes me sound like an old man since it's not that late, but we've got an early start ahead of us tomorrow, so I'm gonna head to bed," Edward stated, covering a yawn as he closed the book and swung his legs around the side of his hammock. When she still didn't move, he paused. He was unsure, and there was that measure of doubt creeping into his mind again. Was she sincere when they were talking about their truce? He expected at least some kind of acknowledgment from Bella that she had heard him.

"Umm…Bella?" Edward stated again as he proceeded to stand up from his hammock making his way over to hers. They were close to one another, but he could not see her well since her book was partly obscuring her face. He could barely make out her mumbled 'going fishing Emmett', before she let out a sigh and shifted position in the hammock.

Edward couldn't help but smile as he stared down at her. Her innocence was startling and the fact that he had at one time considered her not worth knowing was staggering to him. The realization that she was dreaming of their work at the site and had fallen asleep in the hammock served to remind Edward of just how hard Bella was working herself. He understood that this was an easy thing to do if you were tired, as the hammocks were actually quite comfortable.

"Bella," he stated again, hopefully loud enough this time that she would hear but not so loud as to wake her, "I'm going to bed. Bella, you might want to wake up."

Realizing that Bella wasn't likely to wake up by herself anytime soon, he reached down and picked her up, leaving their books to retrieve once he got her to bed.

He gasped in surprise when Bella's arms instinctively reached around his neck and held him there. She seemed to automatically lean her head against his chest, but giving no sign of waking. Edward felt his heart race as she exhaled his name in a breathy voice. He looked down again and saw that she was most definitely asleep.

He headed towards the girls dorm, thinking to himself that she was so light and felt comfortable in his arms. He was grateful to run into Rose and asked her for help, not wanting to enter the women's bunks alone. She took him right over to Bella's bunk and Edward felt his heart sink a little bit.

"What gives Rose?" He asked gently as he lay Bella down on her bed covering her with a tattered blanket. He frowned when he looked over at the rows of bunks and then again at Bella's. She had no pillow, just her duffel bag lying at the top of her bed. Her mattress was by far the thinnest and her blanket was definitely the shabbiest.

"Bella gave me her pillow so I would be more comfortable. I hated to take it from her, but I really did need it Edward and she insisted that she was fine. The mattresses are all pretty worn and as far as the blankets go, well, she saw one of the other women shivering the other night and gave her the one she was using and went to find another but this was all that was left. She thinks of everyone else's comfort but her own. She puts herself last no matter what." Rose said in a maternal voice that left even Edward surprised.

Just before he turned to leave, Edward looked down one last time at the still sleeping figure reaching down to lightly move a piece of hair that had fallen across her face.

He studied her for a moment, not having had the chance to really look at her without her knowing that he was, or without everyone else in his family being around.

He had to admit that she had this natural beauty about her. She was the exact opposite of Tanya. Whereas Tanya would never be seen without being completely put together, in makeup and designer clothes, Bella's face was void of any sign of makeup, with a comfortable shirt and pajamas on. Also, Tanya would never be seen in a foreign country where she wasn't staying in 5-star hotels, and most definitely never would have been caught wearing the clothes provided her by someone who was living in said country, while Bella seemed filled with a sense of pride that someone would care enough about her to share such a prized possession with her, especially since most people here did not appear to own more than a few sets of clothing.

He shook his head to steal himself from this stupor, again realizing how his relationship with Tanya, or lack there of, had lead to him not only putting up guards around him, but also secure them with shackles and locks, with the key thrown away, thus making it difficult to see the good in others, always looks for ulterior motives.

He was feeling a little afraid, because Bella seemed to have found that key and was slowly breaking through the kinks in his armor. He found however that he much preferred this, smiling and laughing and opening up to someone, possibly giving someone a chance, to closing himself down and living a life full of judgment and dislike, carrying the weight of his past burdens on his shoulders.

Plus, what could it hurt to make a new friend?

He turned to leave, but stopped when he thought he heard "Edward" escape from her lips again, but realized his mind must be playing tricks on him, because she was still fast asleep. He mumbled a good night to his sister in law and barely nodded to his mother and sister as he passed them on his way to the men's bunks.

As he climbed into his bed and sleep began to quickly take him, a stray thought made a quick tug at the back of his mind 'I just want to be friends, right?'

The next morning Bella awoke with a smile on her face and with an inherent feeling that the day ahead was going to be a very good day. It was amazing how much better she felt having made peace with Edward, because while she tried to not let it, it had been bothering her that they weren't getting along.

Speaking of Edward, the last thing she recalled was talking with him and reading in her hammock. She didn't even recall getting up from the hammock to walk to her bed, but had the sensation of someone holding her, and the smell of spice and just…man. Her first thought was that Jasper had possibility found her there and carried her to bed, but for some reason, she knew it wasn't.

Realizing that she wasn't going to get anywhere by thinking this to death, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and stood up to head to the bathroom. As she looked up, she found Alice sitting on her bed, looking at her like she was some unique piece of art.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

This seemed to jar Alice out of her trance as she quickly stated "Oh, nothing! I'll see you at breakfast," then turned, and seemed to practically skip off towards the cafeteria.

The crew had sat down to breakfast enjoying an easy banter. Even Edward and Jasper appeared to be developing some sort of almost-friendship. It was amazing how easy the groups had formed together.

The group was laughing at Emmett who was going on and on about how they were "totally going to beat the Honduran soccer team." They had plans to get together and play a match with over the weekend, when Bella quickly plopped down into the empty chair next to Edward, grabbed her cereal and started chowing down.

"Hungry are we?" Edward chuckled as he pushed a cup off coffee in front of her.

Bella immediately grabbed the cup, pulling it to her nose smelling it, saying "Oh my gosh, is this coffee?" then took a long pull from the cups, closing her eyes and savoring it before saying "This coffee is sooooo good. I think I just might be in love with you now", shooting Edward a smile that could light up a whole room.

"Well, if I had known it was that easy to make a woman fall in love with me I would have started passing out cups of coffee a long time ago," he joked as he winked back at her.

They continued to banter, with Bella stating that she must have not known they had coffee in the mornings since she usually slept until the last possible moment, chowing down breakfast right before everyone headed to their work sites.

After a few minutes they noticed that the table had gone completely quiet, and they both looked up to see everyone at the table looking at them with perplexed expressions on their faces.

"What?" they said simultaneously.

Jasper was the first to break the silence, stumbling over his words a little as he said "Well…it's just….you know…you guys don't….when did you guys…."

Edward interjected, deciding to put him out of his misery "We have, I mean, I have realized that I was kind of being of jerk. We talked, and we now…we're friends," as he shot Bella a smile, nudging her slightly with his elbow, which she easily returned.

Everyone continued to look at Edward, still slightly stunned at the complete 180 in behavior, when Emmett decided to save the day, saying "Bella, girl! What kind of voodoo magic have you performed on my brother? I think I might love you too!"

"Okay, seriously, there is a little too much 'love' going on around here this morning, it's starting to freak me out a little bit," Rosalie said, but couldn't hide the small smile that snuck through her façade.

Alberto entered the room them, saying "Alright troops, roundup!"

As everyone started to get up and put their things away, Bella grabbed Edwards bowl, explaining that it was a fair trade for getting her the sweet nectar that was coffee.

"I will have to keep that in mind for future reference when I need to butter you up for something. Well…I guess I'll see you later?" Edward stated as he stood from the table.

"Yeah, later. Have a great day, good doctor" Bella replied.

They both loaded in their trucks with smiles on their faces, thinking to themselves that it was, in fact, going to be a good day.

Once they arrived at the worksite they split into pairs to work on different areas on the walls of the house. One person would put the concrete down along the wall while the other person placed the next row on.

Jasper and Alice were working together in one corner of the house, and Jasper couldn't help but notice that Alice was even more…exuberant than usual. She was flitting about, singing to herself, and seemed to have this knowing smile on her face, as if she had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or something.

"Alice, darling, do you have something you want to tell me?"

"Hmm? Oh….nothing," she replied, but he could tell she was just about bursting to tell someone, so he said "You sure about that sweetheart?"

"Okay, well, since you twisted my arm," and then she exploded saying "Okay so last night, I was almost asleep, and I heard this sound in my bunk, and you will never believe what I saw…"

Jasper looked at her, waiting for her to continue as she said "That's where you are supposed to say 'what did you see?"

"Okay sweetheart, what did you see?" Jasper couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm.

"So I opened my eyes, and in walks this figure…holding this other figure in their arms, and as they got closer, I couldn't even believe what I saw. Edward was holding Bella in his arms, and her head was all nuzzled against his chest, and oh my gosh it was the cutest thing I've ever seen! I mean, I know this morning they said that they had worked out there differences and all, but Jasper, you should have seen it! They may be fooling themselves and I'm not going to say anything, especially when he finally seems to be making progress, but what I saw was not 'just friends'. He was holding her like she was the most precious thing to him, and then he put her down and moved her hair out of her face and just looked at her. Even in the dark I could seem him trying to work out his demons, and I just know he's having a hard time, because he looked at Bella like…"

"How was he looking at her Alice?" Jasper prompted, still a little shocked by what he was hearing.

"He looked at her, well, like you look at me."

Jasper felt like all the air left his chest, because of the weight of what he had just heard. He was quickly realizing the strength of his feelings for Alice, and if Edward had managed to look at Bella with even an ounce of the adoration and feeling he had for Alice, well then, this was serious.

"Alice, are you sure?"

She took a deep breath as she responded, "Yes Jasper…I'm positive. But please please please don't say anything to either of them. I don't want to ruin what could possibly maybe be building between them. I know it might be hard for you because you care about Bella so much and Edward has kind of come across as a jerk, but I promise you, he is a good guy, a great guy in fact. Let's just, see what happens okay? I didn't even go into the building, I went to go get my mother so she could see. By the time we got back he was already leaving but Rose confirmed it. She was there!"

Jasper knew it would be hard to just sit back and watch, but he knew Bella, and he knew that if he approached her about it, her walls would go up, causing her to possibly halt anything that could be building between them because of her fear of getting hurt.

So he agreed with Alice that they would not say anything to either of them, and he just hoped and prayed that he could trust what Alice said, and that Edward wouldn't break his Bella's heart.

As they got ready to leave the worksite for the day, everyone took a moment to just take a look at their house, amazed at the amount of work they had accomplished in such a short amount of time.

No one could believe that they had built and poured the foundation, had finished building and connecting the walls of the house, all in just about a week. Almost building a whole house in around a week. They still had to get the roof put on, but it was still amazing to think that within the next week, a family would be living there with a roof over their heads, a place to keep them cool in the summers, warm when it was cool, and most importantly, dry from the tropical storms.

Before she could stop herself, Bella said "I can't wait to tell Edward about this!"

"Oh ya?" Alice asked.

Bella could tell Alice was anxious to say more or to ask more, but was trying to reign herself in, and she appreciated it, as she replied "I just meant that when he was here a few days ago and helped out. I just thought, you know, that he might like to hear about how much we have accomplished since he was here."

Alice was smiling like crazy as she tried to calmly reply "I'm sure he would…love that."

Once they had arrived back at camp and got showered up, Bella bumped in to Edward on the walkway.

"Oh hey, how was your day?" She asked.

"It was good, how was yours?" Edward replied.

"It was a great day," Bella smiled.

"Well, I would be happy to hear about this…great day. I was just headed to dinner, where you can tell me all about it. Shall we?" he asked as he held his elbow out to her.

"We shall," she replied as she linked her arm with his heading on to dinner.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

After the evening in the hammock, Edward and Bella put their differences behind them. They both continued to migrate there on a nightly basis, making it an evening ritual. Almost always, Bella brought a book and Edward one of his medical journals, but most nights they did not even get opened as they would end up talking about anything, especially their daily experiences, and how they were helping them grow and change as a person every day.

"It's just so amazing. It's like a breath of fresh air. When I was in the United States I had graduated, achieved the goal I had been working towards for so long, and I couldn't believe how just…empty I felt once it was all said and done. I suppose I just expected to feel something, and when I didn't, I felt so disappointed. Who would have ever thought I would have found that something working my butt off on a daily basis in a third world country? Everything is so different here, but I love it," Bella confessed.

"I feel the same way. Not that I was unhappy practicing medicine back home, but it always felt like something was lacking. Perhaps it's because people there don't seem to appreciate things as much as they do here." He chuckled as he continued, "One thing I do love is that there is a lot less paperwork involved here. Maybe because people actually care about and appreciate those that are helping them, instead of always looking for something that can make a malpractice suit out of."

"I think what doctors do is so awesome; I would love to see you in action sometime. Although I sure hope you don't make it a regular practice to insult all your patients, giving them lectures about 'getting' dirt in their cuts' and all," Bella said as she winked at him.

"It's a good thing you're over there Miss Thing, or else," Edward joked. "Seriously though, I'm glad we can laugh about that now. Not exactly one of my brightest or proudest moments. Anyway, enough about me, tell me more about yourself. What exactly did you go get that grand college education in?"

"I went to school for elementary education. My dad has been trying to convince me to apply for jobs in Washington…"

Edward sat up suddenly, "Wait, your father lives in Washington? Which part?"

"Well, he lived in Forks for a long time, but now that he is the Sherriff of Clallam County he moved to Sequim to be closer to work." Bella replied.

"Hold on. Are you telling me…is your father Charlie Swan?" Edward still seemed a little shocked and sat up gaping at Bella.

"Yeah, he is. Do you know him? I can't believe you know my dad." Bella said, not hiding her happiness or her smile.

"And I can't believe you are Charlie Swan's little girl, although, not so little anymore now are we?" Before Bella could further read into that statement, Edward pleaded "Please don't tell him how terrible I was to you when we first met."

"Are you telling me the big doctor is afraid of the big bad police man?" Bella laughed at the thought of anyone being afraid of her father.

"No, not afraid. Let's just say he gives me a new appreciation for local law enforcement." Edward said dryly, not wanting to divulge the fact that Charlie Swan had pulled him over more than once as he rushed to the hospital for work.

"A new appreciation? What did he give you a ticket or something? My dad is one of the most compassionate people you'll ever meet." Bella's face colored as she shared her thoughts with Edward about her father. "Everyone tells me I'm a lot like him."

"Well, I never actually was given a written ticket. But I have had more than one conversation with him in regard to my speed. I think my appreciation for local law enforcement is only eclipsed by your father's appreciation for local medical professionals. Well, that, and the fact that he is a good friend of my father." Edward and Bella both laughed at the coincidence.

Once their banter settled down, Edward cleared his throat and said "You know, I really hope you will consider applying for jobs in Washington. I know you will make an amazing teacher." Before Bella could jump in to ask him how he could possibly know such a thing, Edward said "I've seen you with the children here. You are wonderful with them and it is easy to see how much you love them. Plus…it would be really nice to have you around," Edward almost seemed surprised and a little embarrassed at his last admission then quickly added "for Alice".

Bella smiled, thinking how different he had become, from the uptight crass person she initially met, to the guy who was opening up and showing some vulnerability.

"Yeah," she replied "it would."

The next morning while they were all sitting around the breakfast table chatting, Bella now getting up a little earlier every morning since that day Edward provided her with that cup of coffee. Now whomever got to the table first in the morning would get a cup of coffee for the other.

"I still can't believe how delicious the coffee here is without having to add anything to it. It looks thick as tar, but it is so good. Thick and creamy and just…good."

"Mmmm hmmm…" Edward agreed while sipping on his own tar-like coffee goodness.

A few minutes later Alberto approached their table. "Good morning everyone. So we have a little problem, but I'm sure one of you wonderful people at this table would be glad to help me."

"What's going on?" Emmett asked.

"Well, it would appear one of our staff members for the clinic that Edward and Carlisle are working will be out for at least today and we have no one else to cover. Is there any way one of your would be willing to help us out for today?"

Before anyone really had the opportunity to answer, Edward jumped in "What do you think Bella? Want to see me in action?"

Bella practically snorted out the sip of coffee she had been taking. "Action huh?"

"Well, you did say that you would like to see more of what we have been doing here, and I feel the need to prove to you that I don't make it a habit of snarling at or snapping at my patients," Edward winked at her as he finished his reply.

"Okay okay, you've won me over. I would really like to see what you and Carlisle are doing over at the clinic. That is, unless any of you other women really wanted to go? Oh, I'm sorry, Rose, I probably should have given you the opportunity first."

"No, no you go," Rose assured her as the rest of the Cullen women looked at Bella with smirks on their faces.

"Great! That is settled then," Alberto said. "Thank you Bella. Have a wonderful day. I do hope you get to see some action; though, I must say, the women here are pretty taken with Carlisle. Edward here has his work cut out for him," Alberto laughed as he headed back outside.

When Bella walked outside with Edward she noticed that all of the trucks were already gone. Turning to Edward she asked "So, how do you guys get to the clinic each day if all the trucks are gone?"

Edward informed her that the clinic was only a few blocks from the camp, so they walked to the clinic every day.

As they walked down the small sidewalk, Bella observed her surroundings, since she had not travelled this direction during the day. During this time the markets are open, people selling clothing, food, fabric, machetes and the sorts.

"This is so cool, an open air market. Do they have this every day?" Bella asked.

"Yes they do. It's so cool to be able to observe the culture on our way to work every day." Edward answered with clear excitement in his voice.

"And isn't amazing how, when you take a moment to look up and out at the landscape, there is so much natural beauty that surrounds us?" Bella looked out ahead of her, a smile lighting up her face.

They continued their walk to the clinic in easy companionable silence, unaware of Carlisle observing them, a contented smile on his face.

Once they arrived at the clinic Edward took Bella on a quick tour, showing her all the supplies she would need access to throughout the day.

Bella did a number of odd jobs around the clinic as the day progressed, anything from paperwork and filing to stocking medical supplies, even assisting Edward or Carlisle at times.

When Bella found herself with a few free moments she wandered by a room where Edward was preparing to stitch up a young woman. She stopped to watch for a minute, because it was really nice to watch how well Edward worked with his patients. He had this calm, gentle way about him that made even the children instantly rest at ease in his presence. And the women, like this particular instance, were obviously not immune to his looks. Apparently Alberto did not have this young woman in mind when he said that they were taken with Carlisle.

She must have not been quiet enough, because as Edward was getting ready to start his stitches he looked up seeing Bella standing just outside the room. He spoke quietly to the woman in Spanish for a moment, then gestured for Bella to join him in the room.

"Are you stalking me, Miss Swan?" Edward joked.

Bella pretended to be offended before responding, "No. I was just…watching you in action. You really are great with the patients. Plus, even though I could never do it myself I find what you do fascinating."

"Well, in that case, I could use one lovely assistant. Do you know anyone who fits that description?" Edward asked playfully.

Bella laughed, "I don't know. Let me go look and see if there is anyone in the waiting room who could possibly help you." As she pretended to turn around, Edward grabbed her hand pulling her back to him; Bella was shocked as the most pleasurable electric current crackled where their skin met.

Before either of them could try to interpret what had just happened, they heard a sound that snapped them out of their trance as they realized that there was still a patient in the room.

Bella stepped up, trying to make sure her voice sounded calm, said "One lovely assistant at your service. What do you need?"

"Lovely assistant indeed," Edward smiled before getting back to work.

The rest of the day passed quickly and next thing they knew they were heading back to camp.

Carlisle had left about an hour earlier so Edward and Bella walked back to camp alone.

"Sorry you had to miss a day at the worksite. I know how much you love it and being with the kids." Edward said.

"Don't apologize, I really had a great time today. You are a wonderful doctor and the patients love you…especially the women patients." Bella joked as she jabbed him lightly with her elbow.

"Bella, are you jealous?" Edward tried to sound casual but was surprised that he actual kind of wanted her to be.

"Jealous? Me?" Bella raised her eyebrows at him, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Edward was almost surprised at his emotions as he steeled himself for her answer. He stopped walking and pulled her to face him, staring her straight in the eye to catch the truth of her response. His body stiffened as he responded to her. "Yes, actually I honestly would."

"Well in that case," Bella responded, "you'll have to catch me first!" as she turned to jog down the street.

It took Edward a moment to realize what had just happened, before he took off after her. They knew they both probably looked crazy, two Americans running down the streets of Honduras, laughing like complete idiots.

It didn't take long for Edward to reach her, as he caught her around the waist lifting her into the air; Bella couldn't help but inwardly revel in the feeling of his strong arms holding her to him, while outwardly smacking his arm, saying "Put me down you big lug."

"Fine," Edward replied, "but I'm not letting you go," as he placed Bella alongside him with his arm wrapped tightly and comfortably around her shoulder. The rest of the walk passed quickly and before they knew it they had arrived at the camp's gates.

They began to part ways to head to the showers, Edward realizing he was reluctant to let her go, because he cherished his time with her. "Well, I guess I'll see you later?" he asked hopefully.

Bella smiled back at him. "Why don't you meet me in the dining hall for dinner? Same time, same place. Oh, and dress casual." Bella laughed as she tried to make light of the fact that it would be the same dinner place as any other night.

"I didn't mean for dinner, I already know I'll see you there." Edward reached for one of Bella's hands, reluctant to let her out of his sight, but still not absolutely certain why. "I meant after dinner, by the hammocks. Will I see you later?"

"Of course I'll be there Edward, it's my favorite place." Bella's words softened as she looked directly at him. "And before you ask, no, it's not just because of the books and quiet. I really do enjoy your company Edward. And yes, I do admit I was jealous back there, just a little bit. Can I be honest with you?"

"Of course, please." Edward reached for both of Bella's hands before leading her away from the main path.

"I have no idea why." Bella searched around them, trying to avoid looking at him until he gently took her face in his hands, forcing her to make eye contact.

"My turn to be honest with you? I have no idea either. None of this is making sense to me either Bella. I didn't think you were my type at all and I believe that is why I jumped to conclusions and you and Jasper. Since I am being honest with you then it's time I am honest with myself as well. I think the reason I didn't believe you were my type is because I didn't really know what my type was…until now." Edward's words were almost a whisper between then, as if he was sharing a secret with her.

"And now, Edward? Do you know what your type is now?" Bella regretted her words as she said them. She hadn't wanted to give him an ultimatum but was unable to take them back as they hung in the air between them. She looked down at his lips, waiting for his answer while chewing on her own as her patience wore thin.

"I believe I do know, now." Smiling, Edward pulled back slightly from Bella and was pleased with himself as he watched her facial reaction and how she responded to him, her breath coming in short little gasps. "I'll see you at dinner? I'll be sure to save you a seat." He took another step away from her watching as she stepped away, still not breaking eye contact.

Bella finally broke the spell reluctantly turning away from him, having only the consolation that she would see him again in a few hours. She shook the cobwebs from her brain and nodded. "See you at sinner."

Edward was laughing as he stepped forward again. Bella looked surprised at his reaction and furrowed her eyebrows down in question.

"Bella you just said 'see you at sinner'. Where is your mind today?" Edward teased her as he turned her toward the women's bunk house, before whispering in her ear "because I sure hope it's with me, since mine will be with you."

Her hand covering her face, blushing with embarrassment and excitement, Bella looked straight ahead toward the women's shared bedroom and silently thought to herself that that is exactly where her mind was.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: So I won't take up to much time. But I wanted to say that I have the most wonderful beta Lola! I truly hope those of you who are reading this story are enjoying yourselves. This story is so personal and means so much to me. I am so thankful to be able to share some of these experiences with you. That being said…..on with the chapter!

Chapter 10 – Another step forward

The rest of the week passed without much incident. Everyone went about their business at their assigned worksites each day, all of them having grown together like one big family. Both Bella and Edward returned to their respective jobs without the other for the rest of the week, but every night, without fail, gathered together in their favorite spot until it was time to go to bed.

Neither of them brought up the talk they'd had earlier in the week where they had each confessed to feeling more than just friendship towards one another. While Alice and Jaspers relationship seemed to had erupted quickly like a volcano, Edward and Bella appeared to be more like a slow-burn, growing in intensity more each day as they learned more about one another.

Just because they had not verbally approached the subject of their feelings for one another since that evening did not mean that there was no physical evidence of the change in their….un-labeled relationship. They continued with subtle touches, hugging, Edward tucking a strand of hair behind Bella's ear, or brushing hands whenever possible.

Everyone could sense that something had shifted, and would soon tip one way or the other, but no one dared mention their thoughts aloud for fear of tipping one of the two off the perfectly balanced dance they had going on around one another.

The rest of the week flew by, and Saturday morning approached. Bella had learned to easily sleep through the rooster that must have been on crack, because it crowed all night long. She was really hoping to be able to sleep in a little on the day that they didn't have to go shopping, when she was startled awake by a much-to-excited-for-this-time-of-the-day-when-no-sane-soul-should-be-awake Alice, who bounded on her bed singing "Bella….it's time to get uuuuuuuup. We are going SHOPPING today!"

Bella tried to cover her head with her pillow while simultaneously mumbling "Alice, I can go to the market any day of the week, please let me sleep."

"Not to the market silly, we are going to the Valle de Angeles today, or Valley of the Angels, where there is supposed to be TONS of shopping opportunities, and it is going to take us at least a few hours to get there. Now hurry and get up before someone else buys up all my merchandise."

"Any how come I didn't know anything about this trip before now?" Bella questioned.

Alice chuckled before responding "Well, that would be because you and Lover Boy, I mean Edward, are always off…talking, while most of us hang out in the kitchen area playing cards and the such in the evening, so if Alberto has an announcement he usually just comes to the kitchen to make it. Plus, we don't want to…interrupt you guys. It seems whatever you two have going on out there is pretty personal. So anyway, rise and shine Sunshine! I have the serious need to spend some money!"

Bella groaned once more before deciding to roll out of bed saying "There better be some coffee ready for having to get up at such a ridiculous hour on a Saturday."

Bella hurried through her morning routine, barely having time to brush her teeth and throw her hair into a bun on top of her head, running out of the bathroom noticing everyone heading towards a big yellow bus that resembled the one that they rode into town on that first day.

Realizing she was not going to have time to eat breakfast she stopped by her bunk grabbing a granola bar. Those things had been a saving grace on the days she hadn't had time to eat before heading to the worksite…though that had not happened very often since she and Edward had become close. For some reason, knowing she would get to see him, even for just a few minutes in the morning, motivated her to get out of bed just a little bit earlier.

She hurried out of the girls' room, practically barreling into Edward on the pathway. He reached out to steady her with one arm, chuckling "Whoa there, hold you horses."

"Sorry," Bella replied, "I just noticed everyone was getting on the bus so I was trying to hurry. Since I didn't get my coffee this morning I figured I should at least grab something to eat."

They turned to walk towards the van when Edward handed Bella a cup with a lid on it.

"Is this what I think it is?" Bella asked while moving to cup to her nose to smell the sweet aroma.

"If you mean delicious coffee goodness, then yes it is," Edward answered, smiling because he loved that the smallest things could make her so happy.

"My hero." Bella replied jokingly, as they loaded onto the bus, scooting into a row together, before Bella was jerked away by her arm by a little pixie who stated "Oh no, you don't. I'm stealing you for the ride down."

"But Alice, who am I going to sit with if you steal Bella from me?" Edward started to but in, trying to give Alice his saddest puppy dog look.

"No way big brother. That pout isn't going to work on me. You can sit with Jasper….far away from us. This is girl time."

"Fine," Edward said looking like someone had just kicked his puppy, as he turned to find where Jasper was sitting.

"Goodness. He is such a big baby. C'mon Bella, we are sitting over here," Alice said as she dragged Bella a couple rows over.

"So Bella, what are you planning to buy? I can't wait. I am going to buy hand carved jewelry boxes, and some hammocks, and clothes…let me just say I am so glad we brought the big bus because I am going to need lots of room for my bags by the time this day is over. I cannot remember the last time I went this long without a shopping trip so I can't wait to spend some money!" Alice looks like a kid on her way to a candy store; she was so excited over the prospect of shopping.

"Umm…well, I had not really thought about it. I guess I will just look around and see if there is anything I really need." Bella said.

As the bus pulled off Alice looked at Bella and said "Oh Bella, I have so much to teach you. Shopping isn't about needing something. It's about excitement and the thrill of getting something new; the high of getting a good bargain. Don't worry young grasshopper, I will have you well schooled in the art of shopping before we arrive."

"Can't wait…" Bella mumbled, but could not help but smile at her friend who had so much zest for life. Even though she was crazy and way too hyper, Bella had learned to not only tolerate but also embrace her friends' crazy over the past few weeks, thankful she was lucky to have made such a good friend.

"Looks like you're stuck with me for the ride bro," Edward said as he plopped down next to Jasper in the back of the bus.

"Don't look so excited," Jasper chuckled at his friend.

"Sorry, it's not you, it's just…" Edward trailed off, not sure how much to say.

"No worries man, I get it." Jasper replied.

Edward breathed a sigh of relief; thankful Jasper wasn't getting ready to grill him about his feelings for Bella.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while before Jasper broke the silence. "So I just wanted to say thanks, for being so cool about me being with your sister. I know it was fast, but I am so crazy about her. I am going to do whatever it takes to make it work. Just so you know, I am planning to move to Washington sometime after we get back. It may take me a little while to find a job, but I won't be away from her for long. I won't break her heart. I've…fallen in love with her." Jasper took a deep breath, waiting for whatever Edward was planning to send his way.

"You know man, if you had told me that even a week ago, I probably would have said you were crazy, but…I don't know, things have changed now. Bella has changed everything I ever thought I knew about women, and relationships. She has been this whirlwind that came into my life, and it's like I'm seeing everything differently. I used to approach everything with a negative attitude, but she doesn't. She sees the good in everything and everyone. Heck, she gave me another chance after I was such a jerk. So if you promise me you are going to be good to Alice, I believe you." Edward finished. It was like he was admitting most of that to himself as much as he was to Jasper as he said it out loud.

"You love her too," Jasper replied simply.

"I…do," Edward said, feeling like he was experiencing a revelation, but knowing without a doubt those words were true.

Jasper patted Edward on the shoulder as he said "Who would have thought man, two guys finding love in Honduras."

"Most definitely not me seeing as I didn't believe in love at all," Edward answered.

"Well, just don't hurt her and we will be all good." Jasper said, effectively ending that conversation.

Edward leaned his head back against the seat closing his eyes, thoughts racing through his head. He had admitted to himself that he was in love with Bella. Suddenly the thought that he only had a few weeks left with her before they both went back to the States parting ways, terrified him. He knew that Bella had undeniably and irrevocably changed him, and he could only hope that she felt the same way.

They arrived in the Valley, Alberto pointing out the direction for a few different "hot spots" for shopping and eating. He asked them all to be back on the bus by eight o'clock to head back to the campsite.

"C'mon Bella," Alice said and she practically yanked Bella off the bus "So much shopping to do, so little time".

"Okay Alice. I promise we will get to shopping but can we at least wait for the boys to get off the bus?"

"Yes, but they better hurry up. Why did they have to sit in the back of the bus?" Alice asked as she bounced from foot to foot.

The second the boys stepped off the bus Alice grabbed them. "C'mon let's go!"

Both men laughed while Edward learned over to Bella asking "Is this what you want to do? You can say no to her and we can do something else if you want."

Bella felt her heart warm that he cared about her wants and needs. "I'm okay to look around for a few hours if that is okay with you?"

"I'm happy as long as I'm with you." Edward said, having decided on the bus that he was not going to beat around the bush with Bella anymore. If he felt like saying something, he was going to say it. He did not want to waste anymore time.

Bella struggled not to blush and before she had a chance to respond Alice popped their bubble saying "Okay, okay, let's get a move on!" as they walked toward their shopping destinations.

For the next few hours they were in and out of various shops. Alice managed to find something to buy in almost all the shops, and as a result, poor Jasper had his arms full carrying numerous bags.

Edward and Bella mostly just wandered through the shops. They would separate some while inside the store, browsing the different items, and then head to the next store once Alice had made her purchases inside each one.

Both Edward and Bella enjoyed looking at the pottery that was made from the soul indigenous to the area and they laughed when they saw a shirt that said something about 'I went to Honduras and survived the crazy drivers' but so far neither of them had purchased anything.

In one store Edward caught Bella looking intently at some of the hand-carved jewelry boxes. She eyed them closely, before seeming to simply sigh then walking away.

"See anything you like yet?" Edward asked as they waited for Alice to finish checking out.

Bella looked at Edward, wondering if she should tell him about the jewelry boxes, but not wanting him to feel bad for her for not feeling like she should spend the money on herself, so she just tried to shrug it off saying "Well yeah, but nothing I can't live without you know? What about you?"

"Actually, now you mention it, I think I did see something in that store I wanted to get. I'll catch up with you guys in the next store in just a few." Edward replied before jogging back into the store.

Bella was a little surprised at his response but just chalked it up to his quirkiness before walking into the next store with Alice and Jasper.

Edward joined them all again a few minutes later, a bag in hand.

"So, what did you decide on?" Bella asked, trying to peek inside his bag.

"Oh, just a little something for my house. Are you hungry? I'm starving!" Edward announced, hoping his diversion would work.

"Thank goodness. I was beginning to wonder if we would stop at all or shop straight through dinner. I am sooo hungry." Bella exclaimed, her stomach rumbling in agreement.

Edward laughed saying "Well, we better feed you before you get grumpy. I'll go let Alice and Jasper know that we will meet them in the main plaza for dinner if we don't see them before."

They continued down one of the streets, enjoying an easy camaraderie and just being with each other.

"Whew, I love your sister, but she has so much energy. I get worn out just watching her." Bella said.

"You don't have to tell me twice. I grew up with her and I still haven't figured out where she gets it from. She could give the Energizer Bunny a run for his money." Edward concurred.

As they walked along they stopped at a few restaurants but did not see anything they really wanted to eat. They both agreed that they did not want a big meal since it would not be too much longer before they were to eat dinner.

"Oh! Look Edward! It's a stand where they are selling papusa! I have been wanting to try some ever since we got here but have not been able to find it anywhere. Let's go check it out," Bella said as she grabbed Edward by the arm and dragged him towards the little stand where a local woman was making the fresh papusa out in the open on a hot surface.

"Ummm…Bella, it looks good and all but I'm pretty sure that stuff isn't made with purified water and I'm not sure I want to risk having to run to the bathroom all night long, if you know what I mean."

Bella took a moment to consider what Edward said before deciding "You know what? You only live once and plus, surely any chemicals are cooked out right? Who knows when I will be back here again, though I sure hope I will be. I'm going for it. So, I'm going to get an order." she finished as she informed the woman what she wanted.

A few minutes later they were standing on the corner of the street with hot papusa in hand. Bella took a bite and let out a little moan of pleasure.

"Oh my gosh Edward this is so good, you have to try it!" Bella said as she held it out to Edward to take a bite.

It took Edward a minute to shake out of stupor as he had been staring at Bella's lips, before collecting himself and responding "I'm sure it's good, but it can't be moaning good." as he took a bite, which resulted in a little moan slipping out while Bella laughed. "Or maybe it can be, give me another bite, he laughed and she joined him saying "told you it was delicious!"

Once they had finished their snack they walked around a few more hours before heading back to find Alice and Jasper over in the main square.

When they found them, they also found Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme, who were quite the sight to see as all the men were up to their ears in shopping bags.

"Wow Emmett, Dad, I didn't realize you men had such a shopping addiction." Edward joked, earning him a jab in the shoulder from Emmett who responded with "Well, at least we are gentleman. Where's your girls bags?"

Bells tried to control a blush at being referred to as Edward's "girl", while he responded, "Not all women have a shopping problem, that being the need to buy everything they see."

"Okay boys, cut it out," Esme interjected, "I'm starving so let's go find a place to eat, because you don't want to face my wrath if we have to get back on that bus before I'm full and happy."

Everyone laughed along with mama bear while they headed to find a place to eat.

Once they had finished dinner, all of them with stuffed bellies, they headed back to the bus for the ride home.

When they got back to the bus Edward grabbed Bella, shooting Alice a look saying "Can I steal you for the ride home?"

"Sure," Bella responded while yawning "though I might not be much fun because I feel like I'm going to pass out."

"Me too," Edward said as they ambled onto the bus plopping down in the first open seat, "I just like having you near me."

Bella laughed as she grabbed his arm, her eyes already drooping "Good, because I think your shoulder will make a fine pillow."

Edward wrapped his arm around her saying "Sleep Bella." before leaning his head back against the chair and joining her in sleep.

They arrived back at camp; both rubbing their eyes and trying to wiggle out the kinks in their necks as they had slept the whole ride home.

As they started to get off the bus, Edward leaned into Bella asking "I know it's really late, but after you finish getting ready for bed, could you please meet me at our spot, just for a few minutes?"

"Of course." Bella nodded as she excited the bus, knowing she could never deny him and wondering why he looked so serious. Although perhaps it was just her eyes playing tricks on her from sleep.

They hurried their way through their evening routine before heading out to the hammocks. When Bella arrived Edward was already waiting for her.

She started to make her way over to her usual hammock when Edward interrupted her "I was wondering, could you, maybe lay over here-with me? It is a double hammock so I promise I won't squish you."

Bella was a little shocked but quickly recovered making her way over to Edward at his hammock. She attempted to crawl in smoothly and gracefully but it just wasn't possible bringing them to laughter as they finally got situated.

They lay in contented silence for a minute, enjoying the feeling of being close to each other, before Edward broke the silence, handing Bella a lumpy bag.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Just open it, silly girl." Edward smiled, while holding his breath waiting for her reaction.

Bella couldn't help but tear up a little as she looked as her gift, stumbling through her words as she looked over at Edward "Edward, how did you know..? It's so beautiful. Exactly the one I wanted…"

Edward felt his heart fill up with happiness that she liked it, responding "I saw you looking at it in the store and I noticed you touched this one. I really wanted to do something nice for you." He looked her straight in the eyes before continuing, "Bella, I wish I could put into words what you have come to mean to me. I want to spend every moment with you. I want to be the one who puts a smile on your face. I want to be the one who comforts you when you cry. I want to hear every little detail about your day and know everything about you. I want….you."

As he finished his eyes flickered from her eyes to her lips, as her breathing hitched and she questioned "Edward…?"

"Bella…" he said as his eyes asked her a silent question. She nodded minutely which must have been the answer he was looking for, as he leaned in slowly, before their lips met, soft and perfect.

Edward pulled back for a moment to read her reaction, making sure he hadn't misunderstood what she had been nodding about. He did not have much chance to ponder this before her lips met his again, a little more fervently this time. Their lips parted as they breathed one another in, feeling the flame that had been building over the last few weeks finally igniting.

Edward reached his hand to her hip turning her to face him and to bring her closer while Bella's hand reached up and into his hair, pulling slightly at the hair just at the nape of his neck, eliciting a moan of pleasure from Edward.

They continued for a while, drinking each other in, neither one wanting to be the one to end this perfect moment, before they both had to pull apart, lips swollen and breathing heavy.

"Wow, that was…" Bella began.

"…perfect." Edward finished.

Once their breathing had returned to normal, Bella once again thanked Edward for being so thoughtful in buying her the jewelry box. She did not want the moment to end but knew they both needed to try and get some sleep.

As if reading her mind Edward said "I know we both need get to sleep but I just want you to know…this isn't a fling for me. YOU are not just a fling for me. I know we have a lot to talk about but I just want you to know, I will do whatever it takes to make this work. I care about you…so much and I really hope you want to make this work too."

Edward waited with baited breath, hoping he wasn't about to get his heart broken; wondering to himself if his understanding of what they had was more than what she thought it was. But before the panic set it, she eased his anxiety as she brought her hand to caress his cheek.

She lightly kissed his lips whispering against them "I care about you too…and I would like nothing more than to figure this out. Goodnight Edward," she finished pushing herself out of the hammock as they made their way to bed, knowing they would both sleep well tonight.

Please take the time to review! What do you think will happen? What would you like to see happen? Thank you so much for all your support!


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